Veteran nonprofit health care manager Amy Shin was looking for a leadership position in 2013, and Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) seemed to offer the right fit. After years of working in senior roles at respected Bay Area managed care organizations, here was a CEO job not too far from her Oakland home.
Community Action Commission (CAC) recently honored those who’ve helped improve the lives of children, youth, families and seniors in Santa Barbara County. The 13th annual Champions event, held at Hotel Corque in Solvang, recognized:
Fran Forman – As the recently retired executive director of Community Action Commission, Forman has worked on behalf of children, teens, families and seniors to promote their education, job skills, physical/emotional well-being, and economic security in an effort to stabilize their lives.
CenCal Health, the healthcare provider for nearly 180,000 Central Coast residents, marked its 10th anniversary operating in San Luis Obispo County with an evening of celebration and community recognition on March 28.
FRENCH CAMP—It’s been five years since Amy Shin became the CEO of Health Plan of San Joaquin, a not-for-profit health plan that helps low-income residents secure high-quality health care. In that time, Shin has worked tirelessly with HPSJ staff to increase membership, provide health education to the public and even combat illiteracy. Though there is a long way to go, Shin believes the organization is moving in the right direction.
Gun violence in this country is an epidemic, and it needs to be treated like every other epidemic, as a public health crisis. The first step to finding a “cure” for any public health crisis is research. The new spending bill signed into law on March 23 included one sentence saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has the authority to research gun violence. But with no funding attached, it’s meaningless.
It is the honor of my life to be able to say – In May, I celebrate my 5th anniversary at HPSJ!
I have had the privilege to be part of and help lead amazing, innovating organizations during my career. But none has so completely woven together, as Health Plan of San Joaquin, my personal passions, organizational mission, and the overwhelming sense of community commitment.
Managed Medicaid performance does not increase as state Medicaid programs introduce more health plan variety, but a single health plan with value-based characteristics may be more effective in improving performance, a new JAMA commentary argued.
The health-care battlefield is burning brighter than ever. Eight years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), conservatives think that the ACA is an overreach of government authority and should be repealed. Progressives, on the other hand, believe that the ACA should be replaced by a single-payer system operated with public funds, guaranteeing universal coverage for all citizens.
More than 70 attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act failed, but the groundbreaking legislation is still facing death by a thousand cuts, and it’s clear we cannot depend on Washington to fix what ails the health care system. The health care industry must step up and develop reforms that will ensure the most vulnerable continue to have access to quality care.
OAKLAND, CA – Alameda Alliance for Health (Alliance) made a $102,000 contribution to the Alameda County Public Health Department’s Shoo the Flu program, which will allow them to continue to offer free flu vaccinations at local schools. The Shoo the Flu program reduces influenza in the community by providing free flu vaccinations, regardless of insurance to students and teachers, at elementary schools throughout the Oakland area.
Sixty-six percent of all Medi-Cal patients in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties get appointments for urgent calls within 48 hours, according to the California Department of Managed Health Care, and 83 percent of Medi-Cal patients seeking non-urgent treatment get seen within two weeks.
These patients — totaling about 180,000 — are part of a managed care system known as CenCal Health. These response times earned CenCal a fourth-place ranking of 36 full-service health plans. CenCal provides coverage to 20 percent of the two counties’ population.
GREENFIELD — Mee Memorial Hospital has received a $2.5 million grant from the Central California Alliance for Health that will go toward the expansion of the hospital’s outpatient clinic in Greenfield.
“We are honored to have been awarded this grant from Central California Alliance for Health,” said Susan Childers, CEO of Mee Memorial Hospital, in a news release. “With the new grant, Mee Memorial will be better able to support local efforts to coordinate care and provide better outcomes for patients throughout our community.”
(French Camp, CA) – San Joaquin County Director of Health Care Services Greg Diederich – chair of the San Joaquin Health Commission – has announced that the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors has formally appointed a new member of the Health Commission, the governing board of Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ). He is San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors member Chuck Winn, representing District 4.
Scotts Valley, Calif., Feb. 21, 2018 — Central California Alliance for Health (the Alliance), an award winning, regional non-profit Medi-Cal managed health care plan serving Santa Cruz, Monterey and Merced counties, today announced that Alan McKay, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is retiring on Feb. 28, 2018, after 22 years of service.
ORANGE, Calif. (February 8, 2018) — Dedicated to serving frail seniors, CalOptima’s Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) is expanding through new partnerships with selected Community-Based Adult Services (CBAS) centers. With access to these centers, more seniors may join PACE and existing PACE participants will gain more options to receive adult day health care that suits their culture, location or medical condition.
ORANGE, Calif. (February 2, 2018) — CalOptima’s Member Health Needs Assessment (MHNA) is the agency’s most comprehensive study to date quantifying for the first time significant health care and social challenges. The MHNA provides data critical to ensuring that health care providers and the community can continue to address issues faced by CalOptima members.
In a time when the future of healthcare coverage may seem uncertain, what is certain is that our community can be proud of the quality of healthcare experienced by CenCal Health’s nearly 180,000 members.
(Alameda, CA, January 4, 2018) - The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) recently published the Medi-Cal Managed Care Dashboard, which showed that Alameda Alliance for Health (Alliance) continued to expand on quality gains.
CAMARILLO, Calif., Dec. 29, 2017 – Gold Coast Health Plan’s (GCHP) new palliative care program, MyGoldCare, launches January 1 for qualified enrollees. MyGoldCare helps relieve the pain and suffering of those who are seriously ill.
Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, Calif., Dec. 12, 2017 – CenCal Health is reaching out to keep its nearly 180,000 members and over 1,500 providers and the community informed with important information and resources as the region faces unprecedented impacts from the Thomas Fire.
Updates include critical information about medication prescriptions and refills for members, providers and pharmacies.
