Health Campaigns Address Emergency Care for Homeless, Nutrition
San Francisco recently has launched programs to address homeless residents' use of emergency services and nutrition among Asian residents. Summaries appear below.
San Francisco paramedics who frequently treat homeless individuals repeatedly are pairing them with social workers as part of a new program to provide emergency assistance for the city's homeless population, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The new program, called the Homeless Outreach and Medical Emergency Team, sends social workers to check on the individuals and repeatedly ask them to accept substance abuse treatment.
The city estimates that 362 individuals -- the majority of whom were intoxicated and homeless or marginally housed -- were treated by paramedics 3,869 times between March 2004 and August 2005, costing the city as much as $11.6 million (Lelchuk, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/5).
A San Francisco health campaign for Chinese Americans was unveiled on Tuesday with a cookbook, workshops and a public service announcement as part of a statewide initiative beginning next year to encourage healthy eating among Asian residents, the Chronicle reports.
Rates of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and other diet-related disorders are increasing among Chinese Americans. The statewide initiative -- funded by USDA's Food Stamp Program, which follows similar programs for Latinos and blacks -- promotes the U.S. government's nutrition guidelines at places of residence, work, worship and recreation (Hua, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/5).