SAN DIEGO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: On Oct. 19, the Board of Supervisors passed a motion to increase shelters and safe parking lots with wrap-around services for those experiencing homelessness in the East County. The board took the following actions:
- Authorized the chief administrative officer to work with the developers and community partners to identify properties, buildings, and concepts for low-barrier emergency shelters, safe lots, and associated services in East County and countywide, preferably in the unincorporated area, and return to the board within 120 days with identified locations, funding, and an implementation plan.
- Authorized the chief administrative officer to evaluate current resources and gaps and develop a program with flexible funding to address barriers to housing stability and report back on effectiveness annually.
- Directed the chief administrative officer to create a plan to enhance outreach and case management direct services including robust data collection and analysis in East County and countywide, if an assessment has not already been done on the areas, and return to the board in 120 days.
REPORT ON STATE LEGISLATION: CHA has released its 2021 Report on State Legislation, which hospitals can use as they navigate the nearly 800 bills the governor signed into law this year. Designed to help hospitals understand the implications of and comply with the bills that will have the biggest impact on your facilities, the report also serves as a reference tool for the broad health care-related legislative activity that occurred this year. Hospital leadership teams are encouraged to review and share the report so they can take any necessary steps to implement new requirements. Statutory changes become effective Jan. 1, 2022, unless otherwise noted. Each measure is categorized by subject and indicates which hospital team members might be involved in compliance. In addition, the laws are indexed by author, bill number, and staff role.
LEARNING FROM COVID-19: Imperial Valley Wellness Foundation recently held a webinar called Lesson from COVID-19: Short-Term, Rapid Response is Not a Sustainable Plan. The panelists discussed the impact and response to COVID-19, including a regional conversation about how to strengthen the health and wellness system so it will be better prepared for the next emergency and be more resilient in serving the community on a day-to-day basis.
IMPERIAL COUNTY MEDI-CAL MANAGED CARE MODEL: The Department of Managed Care Services has granted Imperial County conditional approval to move forward with its request to change the Managed Care Plan County Model that currently operates in the county. A conditional approval allows the county and California Health & Wellness to move to the next steps in the Managed Care Plan County Model change process. The next step required Imperial County to submit to the state Department of Health Care Services an approved county ordinance by Oct. 10, indicating the change. In addition, by Dec. 3, plans are required to submit their network contracting strategy, which will be considered part of the Plan Operational Readiness assessment.
ANNUAL CDPH MEETING: Thanks to all who joined last week’s California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Leadership Updates and District Sessions meeting. Over 600 members participated in the program, which included an opportunity to connect with CDPH’s Center for Health Care Quality leadership and district representatives and participate in 14 specialized breakouts for district office discussions. The 12 regional vice presidents from the three Regional Associations and CHA Policy Team vice presidents led the sessions, which are critical for helping members foster relationships with the CDPH district offices.
