At our July 9th HIP Council meeting, we were joined by Santa Cruz County Public Health Officer, Dr. Gail Newel, State Senator Bill Monning, and Assemblymember Mark Stone. Dr. Newel provided a local response update on the current state of COVID-19 and local initiatives in preparation of a larger outbreak as cases continue to rise. As expected, when the economy began to reopen cases have increased. Dr. Newel emphasized that COVID-19 is predominantly affecting those residing in

Santa Cruz County has one of the least affordable housing markets in the country. To save on housing costs, low-income families (and some higher-income families, too) live together in crowded conditions. When COVID-19 arrived, those crowded conditions became a distinct health hazard, especially for multi-generational families that included essential workers in the agriculture, transportation, and health industries. The Health Services Agency (HSA), Human Services Department (

The Homeless Persons Health Project (HPHP) deploys a full medical team to a variety of Homeless Outreach Service Sites, going “tent to tent” to offer PPE and COVID-19 testing. Of course, COVID-19 does not mean that underlying, ongoing health issues have paused. The teams also offer behavioral health interventions and referrals, distribute harm reduction and hygiene kits, offer Narcan, and change wound dressings – just as they would in non-COVID times. From a sample of 28 docu

On California’s Central Coast, we are fortunate to be able to enjoy the freshest produce in the world – the basis for our indispensable agricultural sector. With COVID-19, those who work in the fields picking strawberries, artichokes, lettuce, Brussels sprouts and so much more were deemed essential workers. Clearly, they are crucial to our food supply and that of the entire country, but in any language, “essential” doesn’t necessarily mean “appreciated.” To make sure that the

The Social Determinants of Health include the many factors that can either promote or undermine health, usually far beyond a clinic’s walls. Hunger or lack of steady access to food – sometimes called “food insecurity” — is one of them. For many years, the Santa Cruz County Safety Net clinics have recognized how important healthy, nutritious food is to their patients’ health — and also how often this ingredient of a healthy life is missing. That’s why several have partnered wi

For decades, Santa Cruz County’s Safety Net clinics have worked closely together on shared initiatives such as increasing insurance coverage for uninsured children, integrating behavioral and oral health into primary care, and addressing opioid use and prescribing patterns. Now, they are drawing on the trust built over many years to address COVID-19 together. That trust extends to other partners and funders as well, and has been crucial during the extended COVID-19 crisis. “W

For the health care workers staffing Santa Cruz County’s Safety Net clinics, COVID-19 has elicited some of the same reactions as it has for employees everywhere: fear of COVID itself, stress, uncertainty about the future, new juggling of home and work, and often stretching to serve in different roles under layers of uncomfortable and sometimes scarce PPE. All of these are true, and yet, as one reflected, “I’m really grateful to work with health care workers. They show up. The

As adults, our personal and work lives have been upended by COVID-19. For children, the upheaval has been dramatic as well, with the loss of much of the structure (and at least some of the learning) that school provides, as well as time with friends, drive-by graduations, and an abrupt suspension of the camaraderie of sports teams, the arts, music, and more. Routine access to behavioral, oral, and physical health care is one of the many losses children face when they are shel