FLU SEASON MANDATES: The San Diego Health and Human Services Agency has issued a health officer order reminding health care personnel of the influenza vaccination or masking requirement during flu season, beginning Nov. 1.
CDPH LEADERSHIP UPDATES AND DISTRICT SESSIONS: On Nov. 7 from 9 to 11 a.m. (PT), CHA will host its annual meeting between members and the California Department of Public Health’s (CDPH) Center for Health Care Quality leaders. Attendees will have the opportunity to hear about:
- Program flexes and responding to potential surges
- The status of relicensing and recertification surveys
- CDPH’s plans to modify Title 22
In addition, David R. Wright, director of Quality Safety & Oversight Group at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, will address the memo on unannounced visits and validation surveys.
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS: On Nov. 7 at 1 p.m. (PT), the College for Behavioral Health Leadership, The National Council for Mental Wellbeing, and Health Management Associates will host a webinar: Partnership in Action: A Collective Impact Approach to Implementing Workforce Solutions. Over the past two years, these groups have been working together to develop a new approach to addressing the workforce crisis that is built upon a collective impact framework designed to unify stakeholders across sectors, leveraging existing recommendations and innovative solutions to tackle the crisis.
CALAIM TRANSITIONAL RENT: The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is proposing an amendment to the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal Section 1115 demonstration. This amendment aims to enhance the well-being and health outcomes of Medi-Cal members facing critical transitions or high-risk situations. It will offer up to six months of transitional rent services to eligible individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness while transitioning from various institutional care, residential settings, correctional facilities, and more. These services will also be available for those meeting the criteria for unsheltered homelessness or a Full-Service Partnership program. The provision of transitional rent services will be subject to cost-effectiveness and medical appropriateness determined by clinical and health-related social needs criteria. For more details, visit the DHCS BH-CONNECT web page and DHCS CalAIM 1115 Demonstration & 1915(b) Waiver web page.
MONKEYPOX CASES: The California Health Alert Network has issued an alert to San Diego participants on monkeypox. The alert notes that monkeypox cases are increasing in San Diego County, with seven confirmed and three probable cases reported as of Oct. 25, compared to three confirmed cases in September 2023. Of the 10 recently reported cases, five were unvaccinated or had received only one dose of the monkeypox vaccine at the time of diagnosis. Providers should test for monkeypox when patients at risk for the virus present with rash or sores, regardless of vaccination status or previous history of monkeypox. They should also offer the vaccine to people who are vulnerable to monkeypox, or provide it to anyone who requests it, and make efforts to provide second doses to people who have initiated but not completed the vaccine series.
