Place Matters

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April 3, 2013 | 11:07 AM | By

Small Farmer In Central Valley Takes His Strawberries ‘Farm to School’

By Rebecca Plevin, Valley Public Radio

Pao Saephan's strawberries are just days away from being fully ripe. (Rebecca Plevin/Valley Public Radio)

Pao Saephan’s strawberries are just days away from being fully ripe. (Rebecca Plevin/Valley Public Radio)

Pao Saephan crouches down in his sun-drenched field. He cups a red jewel in his hand. In a few more days, his strawberries will be fully ripe. He’ll pick them once they are rosy red from stem to tip.

“We want all the strawberries, to be full ripe, full flavor, with 100 percent sugar in them,” says Saephan.

In the past, he would sell the fresh berries at his roadside stand, in the small town of Reedley, southeast of Fresno.

The goal is for children to “experience fresh produce and make healthy eating choices over a lifetime.”
But this year, he will sell the bulk of his berries directly to the Fresno Unified School District. He says he is thrilled to share the fruits of his labor with Central Valley students.

“We have farmed a long time, but this is my passion, to be farming something that feeds local,” says Saephan.

Saephan is the first small farmer to sell his produce directly to Fresno Unified. He could pave the way for other small farmers to begin selling their produce directly with the school district.

Jose Alvarado, food services director for Fresno Unified notes that the district is located in the “produce and vegetable capital” of the world. “We have been taking advantage of that,” he says, “but now it’s taking it to another level, from the farmer, when the occasion is right, and it meets our needs. Strawberries were just a natural for us.” Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Policy, Central Valley, Farm to School, School Lunch, Science
March 29, 2013 | 4:33 PM | By

Valley Fever Cases Skyrocketing, Says CDC

BY RACHEL COOK, Reporting on Health Collaborative

Farming in California's Central Valley is a source of smog, a major contributor to the region's high asthma rates. (Getty Images)

Valley Fever is a disease caused by a fungus found in the soil in certain parts of the southwestern U.S., including California. (Getty Images)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirms in a new research article this week what doctors, epidemiologists and people who suffer from valley fever have experienced first-hand — cases of the fungal disease rose at stunning rates over the last decade, especially in California and Arizona.

The CDC’s analysis addresses the findings reported in Just One Breath, a series of news stories on valley fever by the Reporting on Health Collaborative published in The [Bakersfield] Californian and other outlets. The series chronicled the rise in valley fever cases and deaths and the lack of attention by state and federal policymakers.

“I do think that the reporting series helped to put (valley fever) at the forefront, especially in California,” said Dr. Benjamin Park, medical officer in the CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch and the study’s senior author.

The total number of valley fever cases rose by more than 850 percent between 1998 and 2011 in the area where valley fever is most common.
People catch coccidioidomycosis, also known as valley fever, after inhaling fungal spores that are common in the dry parts of the Southwest as well as Mexico and Latin America. Experts say the lack of funding and serious attention to valley fever has stalled efforts to combat the disease.

But valley fever seems to be gaining policy attention. House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden recently met to talk about valley fever’s impact in the Southwest. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: KQED blogs, Place Matters, Valley Fever
March 29, 2013 | 9:25 AM | By

On-Campus Clinics, a Safety Net for Neighborhood Children

By Marnette Federis

School Nurse Gail McLaurin treats a student for asthma at Central Elementary's on-campus Health and Wellness Center. (Marnette Federis/KQED)School Nurse Gail McLaurin treats a student for asthma at Central Elementary's on-campus Health and Wellness Center. (Marnette Federis/KQED)

San Diego School Nurse Gail McLaurin treats a student for asthma at Central Elementary’s on-campus Health and Wellness Center. (Marnette Federis/KQED)

Fourteen-year-old Andrea Vizcarra visited her San Diego middle school’s health center because of a bad cough. But the nurse she saw didn’t stop there. Vizcarra learned she also had high blood pressure.

Then Vizcarra got information and plenty of it. She says after talking with the nurse, she began eating more vegetables and fruits and looked into physical activities, such as running on a treadmill and boxing, so that she can avoid getting sick later in life.

“I don’t want to have a health problem,” she said, “when I can prevent it right now.”

Vizcarra’s visit took place at Monroe Clark Middle School’s Health and Wellness Center, part of a network of K-12 on-campus clinics in San Diego that aims to make primary and preventive services accessible to children.

The network of centers grew out of a partnership between The California Endowment, Price Charities and two well-established community clinics: La Maestra Community Health Centers and Mid-City Community Clinic. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, School Health Centers
March 27, 2013 | 2:53 PM | By

Food Deserts Not Strongly Connected to Obesity, Study Shows

(GraphiChris/Flickr)

(GraphiChris/Flickr)

A new study found “no strong evidence” that being within walking distance to food outlets was associated with being obese or not.

Researchers at UCLA and the Rand Corporation analyzed data from the California Health Interview Survey — nearly 100,000 people were included — and published their findings in Preventing Chronic Disease.

The L.A. Times picks up the story:

Given the attention to the idea of food deserts – areas with limited access to healthful food – and their effect on people’s health, the researchers wanted to find how much it mattered to have stores and restaurants within walking distance, which they defined as a mile from home.

But the number of fast-food outlets within three miles of home was associated with eating more fast food, fried potatoes and caloric soft drinks, and with less frequent consumption of produce, the researchers said. And they found that the number of large supermarkets within 1.5 miles and three miles of home was associated with drinking fewer caloric soft drinks.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Food Deserts, Obesity
March 4, 2013 | 11:13 AM | By

Mentors Inspire Young Woman To Become Doctor For Low-Income Communities

Editor’s note: There was little in her background to suggest Vanessa Armendariz could become a doctor. But as she was growing up, mentors from similar circumstances made her dream seem possible. As part of our occasional series, “What’s Your Story?“ Armendariz explains why she wants to be a primary care physician for people in low-income communities like her own.

Vanessa Armendariz says her goal is to go to medical school and become a primary care physician so she can help serve her community. (Photo Courtesy of Vanessa Armendariz)

Vanessa Armendariz says her goal is to go to medical school and become a primary care physician so she can help serve her community. (Photo Courtesy of Vanessa Armendariz)

Like any child, I was terrified of going to the doctor. But as a child of a low-income family in Stockton, my reasons were different.

I wasn’t afraid of a shot. Instead, I dreaded the hours-long waits and seeing my parents struggle to afford the visits. I couldn’t stand my family feeling unheard or helpless.

I wanted to change that for families like mine, so I decided to become a doctor.

But in high school, I was told that as a low-income Latina, my chances of getting pregnant were higher than going to college. My mother was pregnant at 16, and no one in my family had attended college, so it was hard to argue those statistics.

“In high school I was told that as a low-income Latina, my chances of getting pregnant were higher than going to college.”
Then, my parents were caught selling drugs to support our family. My mother continued to support my dream, but it seemed impossible. That changed when I found a program that introduced disadvantaged students to medicine through mentoring and visits to our regional health centers.

I interacted with physicians I could relate to. They came from low-income, minority backgrounds and were passionate about giving back. I realized that if they could do it, so could I. I excelled academically Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Doctor Shortage, Latino Health, Stockton
February 25, 2013 | 5:28 AM | By

New Approach to Medical Residency May Ease Doctor Shortage in Central Valley

By Rebecca Plevin, Valley Public Radio

Dr. Peter Broderick examines a patient's x-ray while family practice medical residents look on. (Rebecca Plevin/KVPR)

Dr. Peter Broderick examines a patient’s x-ray while family practice medical residents look on. (Rebecca Plevin/KVPR)

The Central Valley suffers from an acute shortage of doctors — especially primary care doctors — but a new type of residency program aims to bring relief. These new “teaching health centers” are funded by the Affordable Care Act.

This new approach contrasts with traditional medical residency programs, which are often based at university medical centers in large cities and encourage specialty training.

With the recognition that medical residents often stay where they are trained, the idea behind this new approach is to place these young doctors not in large hospitals but in community health centers where they will focus on primary care.

“The hope is that more of the graduates from these programs will stay in these underserved settings, will work in these community health clinics, and hopefully address some of the shortages that we have with that population,” said Dr. Peter Broderick, the CEO of Modesto’s Valley Consortium of Medical Education.

In 2010 Broderick’s group opened the state’s first “teaching health center” — the Valley Family Medical Residency Program. It has trained 12 doctors a year since then. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Policy, Doctor Shortage, Primary Care, Rural Health Care
February 20, 2013 | 12:45 PM | By

Seniors Help Kids CATCH Healthy Habits in San Diego

By Marnette Federis

During the physical activity component of CATCH Healthy Habits, kids play active games for 30 minutes. (Photo: Marnette Federis)

During the physical activity component of CATCH Healthy Habits, kids play active games for 30 minutes. (Photo: Marnette Federis)

A novel after-school program in the San Diego area is bringing together older and younger generations and helping encourage healthy lifestyles.

The program, called Coordinated Approach To Child Health, or CATCH Healthy Habits, trains and places senior volunteers in after-school programs and youth clubs where they teach kids about health.

CATCH is run by San Diego OASIS, an older adult educational center that encourages productive living for adults 50 years of age or older.

Many volunteers are retired teachers and nurses who said they were looking to give back to the community and be active even though they are no longer in the workforce.

Lala Bence, 69, worked as a pre-school teacher for 25 years. “I love children, I retired [from teaching] for a year and I couldn’t do without it,” said Bence, who now works with CATCH in San Diego’s Logan Heights neighborhood. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Children's Health, Nutrition
February 8, 2013 | 2:52 PM | By

More Than Spanish: Salinas Hospital Has Extensive Interpreter Program

By Lisa Morehouse

Dr. Minerva Perez-Lopez in the neonatal intensive care unit at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas. While Perez-Lopez speaks both English and Spanish, she needs interpreter services for her indigenous Mexican patients. (Photo: Lisa Morehouse)

Dr. Minerva Perez-Lopez in the neonatal intensive care unit at Natividad Medical Center in Salinas. While Perez-Lopez speaks both English and Spanish, she needs interpreter services for her indigenous Mexican patients. (Photo: Lisa Morehouse)

Angelica Isidro is only 4’9” tall, but she has a huge presence. I was almost exhausted by her energy as she took me on a tour of her Salinas Valley town of Greenfield. With about 15,000 residents Greenfield is surrounded by fields. On the edge of town, Isidro points to one that’s been prepared for lettuce crops. Across the street, there’s another for string beans and next to that, one for spinach.

Isidro has worked in the fields for twenty years. She says she and other farmworkers work 10 hour days at $8.50 or $9 an hour. She and her fellow farmworkers have specific health concerns.

“There are some dangers of working in the fields,” she says in Spanish through an interpreter. “People can get infections, like they might get fungus in their feet and also in their bodies. And also the pesticides. Sometimes we’ll be out in the fields and close by we’ll have the airplane that’s dusting the crops. That could potentially be dangerous.” Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Farmworker Health, Medical Interpreter
January 29, 2013 | 11:19 AM | By

Are There Enough Medi-Cal Doctors in Kern County? How About Statewide? Who Knows?

People wait in line at Clinica Sierra Vista at the East Bakersfield Community Health Center. Some were waiting before they opened at 7:30am. (Casey Christie / The Californian)

People wait in line at Clinica Sierra Vista at the East Bakersfield Community Health Center. Some were waiting before they opened at 7:30am. (Casey Christie / The Californian)

Once Obamacare is fully implemented in January, hundreds of thousands of Californians will move from the ranks of the uninsured to the insured. That’s the good news. The downside: many California counties already face a shortage of primary care doctors — a shortage that is especially acute in the Central Valley.

How those newly insured — especially those who will be enrolled under Medi-Cal — will access care is an especially pressing question in Kern County, as the CHCF Center for Health Reporting has been exploring under a series, Desperate for Doctors.

“It would be really helpful for policymakers to have an agreed upon set of facts.”

A chief problem is not only the shortage of primary care doctors, but also the question of whether physicians accept Medi-Cal patients. If individuals and families hold Medi-Cal insurance, but can’t find a doctor who will accept it, their new coverage isn’t much help. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Place Matters, Reform, Affordable Care Act, Doctor Shortage, Medi-Cal
January 24, 2013 | 3:56 PM | By

Two Soda Stories: Richmond Tax Post-Mortem, New Ally in NYC Ban

(La Piazza Pizzeria/Flickr)

(La Piazza Pizzeria/Flickr)

The East Bay Express chose one heckuva startling headline for its article examining the fight over Measure N — Richmond’s penny-per-ounce tax on soda and sugar sweetened beverages that was defeated last November. “Race Baiting in Richmond” alleges that big business used race to fracture Richmond’s progressive community in its ultimately successful campaign to defeat the tax.

The lengthy and detailed article makes clear that race was already a factor in the anti-soda tax movement before the soda industry — and its dollars — arrived in Richmond last summer. From the East Bay Express:

Some opponents of the tax had alleged that it was racist, arguing that it would unfairly harm low-income residents in the city. And the No on Measure N campaign, bankrolled by large corporations that make a fortune from selling cheap soda to low-income consumers, nurtured that sentiment. Indeed, there is evidence that the beverage association helped keep race at the forefront of the campaign as part of a strategy that exploited Richmond’s existing tensions. And after spending at least $2.7 million — believed to be a record in East Bay politics — against Measure N, the beverage industry emerged victorious as the soda tax was beaten soundly.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: KQED blogs, Place Matters, Policy