Black Infant Health Program Closing
The initiative is part of a a state program enacted in California in 1989, when public health officials noticed a disparity in infant mortality among African Americans statewide.
LA Daily News:
Program For African American Moms-To-Be Shut Down Amid Funding Cuts
The health and wellness of women and their newborns is at the heart of Black Infant Health, a state program enacted in California in 1989, when public health officials noticed a disparity in infant mortality among African Americans statewide. The Golden State’s overall infant mortality rate of 4.7 per 1,000 live births in 2013 was lower compared to the rate nationwide. “However, there were significant racial and ethnic disparities, with African American infants dying at rates twice as high as all other racial groups, except those who are two or more races,” according to the California Health Care Foundation. (Abram, 6/29)
In other news from across the state —
San Jose Mercury News:
Menlo Park: Child Development Center Gets Big Lift Boost
A city-operated child development center in Menlo Park will get a big boost for its programs and three additional workers, thanks to a $256,500 grant from Silicon Valley Community Foundation. ... The funds will allow the center, which offers full-day child care at affordable rates for low-income working families, to hire a new full-time teacher's aide, a contracted office assistant and a contracted family engagement consultant, as well as staff laptops and other classroom supplies. The teacher's aide, according to the report, will be similar to the community policing officer for Belle Haven who is funded by Facebook, meaning that when the Big Lift grant terminates in August 2019 the city "will manage the loss." (Kelly, 6/30)
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
Medical Group Audit Shows Billing Errors
An audit of a key medical group that treats patients at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside found significant errors in the organization’s Medicare billing, but the group’s leader said the investigation is inaccurate. Tri-City has declined to provide a copy of the audit in recent weeks, asserting that the document is protected by attorney-client privilege and that its disclosure would not serve the public interest. (Sisson, 6/29)
Capital Public Radio:
600 Commercial Marijuana Farms Registered In Calaveras County
More than 600 growers have registered as commercial marijuana farms in Calaveras County. Thursday afternoon at 4 p.m. is the deadline for growers to sign up and pay a $5,000 registration fee. Caz Tomaszewski, head of the Calaveras Cannabis Alliance, says this will bring the industry out of the shadows. (Capital Public Radio, 6/29)