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Stay connected with stories about legislation, funding, programs and events that are affecting the health of Californians.
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| December 20, 2011 |
We recognize four individuals who make health care and prevention possible for Californians and serve as champions of prevention.
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| December 20, 2011 |
Kern County, where students are expelled at four time the CA average, is a focus of "Expulsion Epidemic" investigative news report.
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| December 1st, 2011 |
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by Kim Williams
Hub Director, Building Healthy Communities: Sacramento
The California Endowment
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Building Healthy Communities Hub Director, Kim Williams, blogs on a recent WE Connect event. WE Connect is designed to help people in need get the help they deserve. And getting access to affordable, quality health care is at the top of the list. Being able to go to the doctor for check-ups makes it possible for families to stay healthy and avoid getting sick in the first place. It also makes it possible to treat conditions before they get worse.
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| November 28, 2011 |
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by Daniel Zingale
Senior Vice President, Healthy California
The California Endowment
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Daniel Zingale blogs on what recent film release "In Time" has to do with health inequality.
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| November 23, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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"The new health law is making prevention a priority and giving families real hope for a healthier future."
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| November 23, 2011 |
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by Tina Castro
Director, Impact Investing & Strategic Partnerships
The California Endowment
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Tina Castro blogs on food deserts and about how FreshWorks is making health happen in neighborhoods.
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| November 1, 2011 |
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by Anthony Iton, M.D.
Sr. Vice President, Building Healthy Communities
The California Endowment
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To understand how the places where we live and play affect our health, we don’t need to look any further than the Acosta Plaza condo development in the East Salinas/Alisal area of Central California.
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| November 1, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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As fate would have it as I sat down to write this blog, a colleague sent me an article about the findings of a study that recently appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled, Neighborhoods, Obesity, and Diabetes — A Randomized Social Experiment. For those of you familiar with the work of The California Endowment – we’ve been working to unravel how best to address these issues for 15 years - you’ll understand why my heart began to race, my pulse quickened and I prayed that on those pages I’d find the silver bullet that could wipe away this insidious crisis that unfairly targets the nation’s most vulnerable communities.
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| October 28, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
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by Tessie Guillermo
Board Chair
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On Friday, October 28, in an action unanimously supported by our Board of Directors, The California Endowment filed an amicus curiae brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of the federal government’s request that the Court accept an appeal of a lower court decision invalidating a portion of the Affordable Care Act. While the new health reform law continues to endure all manner of political and legal attacks across the nation, it is our view that this new law offers the best pragmatic set of remedies to solve the crisis of our dysfunctional, too-expensive, and unfair health care system.
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| October 27, 2011 |
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by Daniel Zingale
Senior Vice President, Healthy California
The California Endowment
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In California and across the nation, schools are increasingly relying on harsh measures such as suspension and expulsion to deal with discipline problems. Misconduct is often a symptom of something gone wrong in a child’s life, but simply removing a child from the classroom doesn’t address the cause of the problem, repair the harm or prevent future misbehavior.
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| October 20, 2011 |
October 20--At Ryan Elementary School in San Jose, Superintendent Tom Torlakson joined forces with local education leaders and pro athletes to unveil Team California for Healthy Kids, a new campaign to promote healthy schools and healthy students.
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| October 20, 2011 |
The California Endowment celebrated a launch event with new partner HealthCorps—a wellness movement with in-school educational and mentoring programs now in 54 highs schools in 12 states and the District of Columbia. Founded by Dr. Mehmet Oz, HealthCorps’ mission is carried out by ‘Coordinators,’ recent college graduates who defer entry into medical school or graduate health programs to serve as a Peer-Mentors for two years at a designated public high school.
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| October 19, 2011 |
As part of its Health Happens In Schools campaign, The California Endowment has created the ‘Health Happens Heroes’ Award to recognize school food and nutrition directors from across the state who are pioneers in making healthy schools meals that kids want to eat. The awards were made to coincide with National School Lunch Week (Oct. 10-14), a time to raise awareness about how healthy school meals contribute to the well-being and academic achievement of children.
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| October 17, 2011 |
As part of The California Endowment commitment to improving the health of all Californians, we have partnered with the American Heart Association to bring the Teaching Gardens initiative to communities throughout the state beginning with South Los Angeles. In these outdoor classrooms, students nurture plants from seed to harvest, and develop essential skills to make healthy choices for themselves."
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| October 17, 2011 |
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by George Flores
Program Manager, Community Health
The California Endowment
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"My dad loved tools. He had a lot of them, and seemed happiest when he was using them to fix things around the house. We use tools here at The California Endowment, too: computers, phones, paper. It’s just that when we use them we aren’t necessarily whistling cowboy tunes like my pop did. But next week we are celebrating the publication of a new report about a tool that helps decision-makers understand the potential health impacts of their choices.
"That’s a good thing, because without the tool, decisions can be made that result in bad health consequences that disproportionately affect certain communities more than others. We see those kinds of consequences in low-income neighborhoods without parks or grocery stores, and too many liquor stores and sources of toxic pollution."
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| October 17, 2011 |
As McKee Middle School's Julia Lopez waited for the volleyball, she knew AmeriCorps Mentor Claudia Arredondo was there to help her and in the classroom, as well.
According to statistics provided by the AmeriCorps Building Healthy Communities Program, there are communities in California where 65-80 percent of the children do not feel safe at school.
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| October 13, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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I am growing a bit weary of the incessant, often irrational, and generally unfounded venomous attacks on all manner of government these days, accompanied by the aphorism that “big government” is the source of all of our nation’s woes. Want to fix the economy? Reduce government. Want a real authentic fix to health care? Reduce government. Create jobs, improve public education, repair the housing crisis? Just reduce the size of government, taxes along with it, and watch it all magically fix itself.
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| October 11, 2011 |
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The Sacramento Kings hosted a Guinness-worthy fitness rally at Earl Warren Elementary School Tuesday, Oct. 11th.
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| October 10, 2011 |
During the National Week of Action on School Discipline, youth from throughout the state came together in a virtual rally to tell their stories about the overuse of harsh school discipline and advocate for more positive and healthy school environments.
In California, schools issued more than 720,000 suspensions and expulsions last year, the majority unrelated to drugs or violence. Students from Boyle Heights, South Los Angeles, Fresno, East Oakland and Sacramento took part in an Oct. 5 virtual rally to talk about how this problem affects them and the changes they want to see in their schools.
>> Read Full Article
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| September 29, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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During the recent CNN/tea party presidential debate, moderator Wolf Blitzer asked what the candidates would say to a 30-year-old male without health insurance who suffers a catastrophic injury.
“Let him die!” somebody shouted from the audience.
As a pediatrician and health care advocate, I was stunned. But the next morning’s headlines were even more shocking.
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| September 29, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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As the CEO of a health foundation, I'm quite familiar with the many ways that schools affect the health of children, or at least I thought I was.
But in recent months, community activists have schooled me about a problem that wasn't on my radar: the impact of extreme school discipline policies on the health and opportunities of California youth.
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| September 22, 2011 |
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Texas suspension and expulsion rates are no longer a secret to most, but in California, almost 800,000 suspensions and expulsions are administered each year, approximately doubling Texas’s rates. In Los Angeles alone, these extreme policies are proving to be all too common for nonviolent offenses, like being tardy to school, which historically would have warranted a trip to the principal’s office at most.
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| September 19, 2011 |
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by Marion Standish
Director of Community Health
Healthy California
This week we learned that The California FreshWorks Fund gained even more momentum when it received a $3 million award from U.S. Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. It was one of only 12 organizations nationally to receive an award. Now with $221 million dollars of available financing and applications received at a steady clip, FreshWorks is poised to make a difference in the lives of thousands of Californians in some of our most underserved communities.
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| September 14, 2011 |
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by Joe Arensmeyer
Founder and CEO
Small Business Majority
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For those employers who have waited until the last minute to file their taxes, the countdown is on. September 15 is the deadline for small business owners who filed extensions to finally pay the piper. But it’s not all bad news. Entrepreneurs who act quickly have the opportunity to pocket some extra cash by taking advantage of health care tax credits.
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| September 12, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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Over the past two-plus years, the Los Angeles Times has intermittently reported on the story of the classroom shooting of Larry, an openly gay teen who was shot to death by a classmate, Brandon, who deeply resented suggestively sexual comments by the victim. The story reached a climax last week when a jury effectively deadlocked on a verdict regarding the shooter’s guilt. The question now is whether another trial will be scheduled to determine innocence, manslaughter, or murder. Not knowing the facts, and not being a lawyer, I will avoid speculating on that point.
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| August 30, 2011 |
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by Annette Fuentes
Journalist and Author of Lockdown High: When The Schoolhouse Becomes a Jailhouse
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Nabil Romero and his brother were on their way to school one morning, taking two Los Angeles city buses that day because their mother couldn’t drive them. The route is long, and when they got off, they had to walk a few blocks. It was already 8:40 a.m., after the school bell. “An officer stopped us and asked why we weren’t in school,” Romero, 17, recalled. He tried to explain but the police officer ordered the boys to sit on the curb, handcuffed them and then gave them tickets for truancy. “I was pretty scared,” he said. “I felt like I'd robbed a bank or something. After that, I felt like, if I was going to be late, I didn’t want to go to school.”
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| August 23, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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Those of you who follow the news headlines undoubtedly have heard about the tragic consequences of bullying in schools. The old adage ‘kids will be kids’ is no longer an excuse for a problem that has resulted in the suffering and, in some instances, suicide of far too many of our youth. It is up to all of us to put an end to this cruel behavior.
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| August 22, 2011 |
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by Joe Arensmeyer
Founder and CEO
Small Business Majority
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The Affordable Care Act already provides many benefits to Californians even though it’s not yet fully implemented. California is already racing ahead of the pack by getting started on setting up its Health Benefit Exchange, a health insurance marketplace that will provide affordable health coverage options to small businesses and individuals. On August 12, 2011, California was awarded a $39.4 million grant for the planning, research and implementation for the state’s Health Benefit Exchange – the most vital component of health reform for small businesses. Read this blog by John Arensmeyer, Founder and CEO of the Small Business Majority, about this important milestone.
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| August 9, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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During a time in our nation when we seemingly weather successive waves of just-plain-ugly, a bright moment occurred last week when Mayor Michael Bloomberg and philanthropist George Soros combined to announce a $120mil-plus venture to improve the civic well-being of black and brown boys and young men in New York City.
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| August 2, 2011 |
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by Deena Lahn
Policy Director
Children's Defense Fund - California
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A recent report, commissioned by The California Endowment and authored by the Urban Institute, outlines critical strategies that policymakers should use to maximize the benefits of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) for California’s low-income children and their families.
“In my opinion, the study’s findings are an appeal to state policymakers to actively work to streamline the process to enroll and stay enrolled in public coverage programs, make coverage more affordable and accessible for low-income parents, bolster the provider infrastructure that serves children and families in public programs and support additional children’s health programs for those that do not qualify for Medi-Cal or Healthy Families."
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| August 1, 2011 |
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by Daniel Zingale
Senior Vice President, Healthy California
The California Endowment
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The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, recently released a report that suggests the living conditions for poor Americans are improving. Among the reasons cited for this improvement was that poor Americans are only about 10 percent less likely to own a big screen TV than Americans overall, and only slightly less likely to own a video game system. Zingale points out the flawed logic behind the report which masks the realities that poor families must face everyday.
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| July 26, 2011 |
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by Barbara Raymond
Program Director, Youth Opportunity
The California Endowment
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Last week a landmark study was released documenting shockingly high suspension and expulsion rates in Texas schools and the damaging effects of removing so many kids from the classroom. The report suggested that this problem goes far beyond Texas, and noted that California’s 12.75% annual suspension/expulsion rate is double that of Texas. Many communities across California are working to find better ways to effectively discipline students while keeping them in school. California's future prosperity rests on implementing these across the state. The California Endowment’s Youth Opportunity Program Director Barbara Raymond examines why in this op-ed that recently ran in the Sacramento Bee.
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| July 26, 2011 |
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The Sacramento Region can only prosper and ultimately grow into its full potentional in future years if it drastically improves the education, health, civic participation and job opportunities for the region's young people, says a recently released UC Davis study of a nine-country area.
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| July 20, 2011 |
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During a Healthy Food summit at the White House on July 20, 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the launch of the California FreshWorks Fund. Referring to food deserts, she stated, “Solving this problem is about…coalitions like the California FreshWorks Fund who've pooled their resources and expertise and will be bringing small family-owned grocery stores into undeserved communities all across California."
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| July 18, 2011 |
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The California FreshWorks Fund is a $200 million public-private partnership loan fund created to bring grocery stores and other forms of healthy food retailing to California's food deserts. Dr. Robert K. Ross recognizes the all-star roster of committed partners responsible for this major movement towards creating healthy futures for all California communities.
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| July 17, 2011 |
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On July 27th, The California Endowment invites you to join our Los Angeles public program with Cornerstone Theater Company. In a time of crippling scarcity and overwhelming abundance, individuals and communities are responding to the question "what feeds you?" in different and compelling ways. Bring your personal experiences and stories. This collective work will be ultimately transformed into community-based theater pieces investigating the universal and urgent need for food.
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| July 17, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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"My generation has failed your generation.
"That was among the things I said to more than 100 youth leaders from across California who gathered recently in Sacramento to craft a shared vision for how disinvested communities could become ones that are thriving with health and opportunity."
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| July 15, 2011 |
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Would you drink from this water fountain? Would you want your kids to drink water from it? For many California kids, this is what is offered to them in school.
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| June 24, 2011 |
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In some communities PepsiCo is running a promotion through KFC encouraging customers to buy a 64-ounce soda in order to donate $1 to diabetes research. As a foundation whose core mission is to promote the health status of all Californians, we worry that some marketing tactics go too far in urging us—especially kids—to consume more junk food and soda.
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| June 22, 2011 |
The Matching Gifts Program reinforces The California Endowment's mission by encouraging members of the Board of Directors and employees to contribute to qualifying charitable organizations.
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| June 8, 2011 |
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All across the nation, health status varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. How can health vary so dramatically in neighborhoods that are often right next to each other?
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| June 2, 2011 |
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Young voices are emerging as strong storytellers, documenting their lives and that of their communities through video, websites, artistic expressions, the written word, and journalism. These young storytellers make the personal political while shining a light on the larger issues defining their lives and illuminating the broader context of their communities.
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| May 31, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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"May 31, 2011, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate The California Endowment’s Board Member John Bryson as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Bryson has served on The Endowment’s board of directors since April 2003 and is the former chair of the Investment and Finance Committee."
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| May 27, 2011 |
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by Adelina Pickett
Hub Coordinator
Building Healthy Communities, South Kern
"Our community is one of strong commitment to family, work and each other. It is an organized community, and one that knows how to get its voice heard, even if it is in another language. We do this without walkable streets. We do this amongst liquor stores and fast food restaurants, and we do this after long hours of field work in 100-degree weather. And we do this while breathing the worst air in our country."
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| May 24, 2011 |
by Elaine Peacock
Partnership Program Manager
The California Endowment
“After several hours of candid and frank discussion, hospital leaders, advocates, funders, and health care providers committed to monthly meetings to develop actions and policies on a regional managed care system for Sacramento.
“This regional health system would place a significant emphasis on primary care and prevention as opposed to just providing care when you get sick.”
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| May 23, 2011 |
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A Portrait of California assesses the well-being of Californians and their unique human development challenges. This report introduces the ‘Five Californias’ to highlight the varied opportunities — in health, education and living standards -- open to different segments of the population. Which of the 'Five Californias' do you fall into?
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| May 17, 2011 |
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by Elizabeth Toledo
Hub Manager
Eastern Coachella Valley, Building Healthy Communities
"I’ve seen it time and again – in the hands of youth, a little idea can grow into something much bigger and better. What began as an event to honor participants of a multimedia contest in Eastern Coachella Valley, in a few short months blossomed into The Hue Music & Arts Festival."
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| May 17, 2011 |
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by Marion Standish
Director of Community Health
Healthy California
"Five years ago, The California Endowment tried a new approach for improving health. Instead of just giving advice, we sought to make communities healthier places, with more access to fresh affordable foods and opportunities to be physically active."
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| May 17, 2011 |
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by David A. Gottlieb
Presiding Juvenile Judge
Fresno County
"Had I employed the form of punishment that is considered the 'norm' these youth could have been lost to society and would not have been held truly accountable for their actions."
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| May 11, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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"As many as three different tribes will join in the Brush Dance ceremony. The message is clear: the entire community is responsible and accountable for the well-being of our children, and future generations."
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| May 10, 2011 |
The California Endowment's Dr. Robert Ross was a featured speaker and panelist at the Future of Food Conference organized by The Washington Post on Wednesday, May 4th. Representatives from a number of influential foundations attended including The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Kellogg Foundations, Kresge Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Highlights of the event are available to view now.
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| April 28, 2011 |
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by Robert K. Ross, M.D.
President and CEO
The California Endowment
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by Bernard K. Melekian
Director, U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Community oriented Policing Services
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Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), the Center for Court Innovation, and The California Endowment met to explore how public health resources and programs can support law enforcement in creating safer, stronger communities.
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| April 26, 2011 |
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New report examines opportunities for California counties to save $1.4 billion in county health care and private hospital costs by moving individuals with disabilities on to Supplemental Social Security Income (SSI).
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| April 19, 2011 |
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by John Arensmeyer
Founder and CEO
Small Business Majority
“For months it seemed the new 1099 reporting rules in the new health care law were destined to bounce from one chamber of Congress to the other without lawmakers finding a solution to the requirement that would mire small businesses in mountains of paperwork."
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| April 11, 2011 |
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For all its weight and acceleration, this effort simply won’t get off the ground unless foundations provide the lift. Foundations can and must do more to make philanthropy more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
What stands in the way? For starters foundations have encountered—and have sometimes fallen prey to—common myths.
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| April 8, 2011 |
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In the final days of tax season, a new online calculator is available to help you easily determine – in 4 questions – if you are eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal credit that could boost your refund by thousands of dollars.
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| April 7, 2011 |
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Back in October 2010, we released a Request for Proposals for our Program-Related Investments initiative. A total of $7.25 million in low-interest loans was recently awarded to five organizations that will help support projects in many of the 14 Building Healthy Communities sites across the state. “This form of investing packs a social impact wallop,” said Dr. Ross, president and CEO of The Endowment.
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| April 7, 2011 |
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The one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act is fast approaching. To mark the date, more than 20 health insurance enrollment events kick off on Friday, March 18. The goal: to enroll eligible children and families in health coverage at low or no cost. Events are being held in the Building Healthy Community sites of South Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and Long Beach and will continue through April 18.
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| April 6, 2011 |
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by Judi Larsen
Program Manager, Community Health
The California Endowment
“I just submitted public comments on a proposed federal rule, and you should too! I know, it sounds about as much fun as a trip to the dentist. But it’s really easy, and it’s important. Here’s why."
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| March 29, 2011 |
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"At The California Endowment, we pause to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). But we don’t have the luxury of pausing too long, because this one-year legislative “toddler” continues to grow in, shall we say, a less-than-supportive family environment in our nation’s capitol. We must work to support its successful implementation, and there is little time to celebrate at the birthday party."
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| March 14, 2011 |
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Today, La Opinión, California’s premier Spanish-language newspaper, began distributing 1.5 million copies of an informational bilingual supplement -- made possible by The California Endowment and WE Connect -- that helps California’s low income families access financial resources, health care programs and social services. Just in time for tax season, the supplement reminds families not to miss out on potentially thousands of dollars in credits and benefits.
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| March 14, 2011 |
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The Public Policy Institute of California poll is in and shows that the majority of Californians agree that the current health care system needs improvement — with a particular interest in supporting preventive care as the solution. Dr. Robert Ross, President and CEO of The California Endowment shares his viewpoint on the poll findings in this op-ed in The Sacramento Bee.
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| February 14, 2011 |
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"South Kern, one of the 14 Building Healthy Communities, wanted to celebrate the end of nearly a year of planning sessions to improve community environments and health outcomes by doing something, well, healthy. But what could they do?"
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| February 14, 2011 |
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"When I heard that Secretary Sebelius started her day running with the Mayor at 6:30 in the morning, my first thought was, whoa that’s crazy, she’s seriously dedicated! But then when the Kings mascot came to workout with the kids, it made me think that even I can do my 55 minutes a day to stay active and physically fit while having a good time!"
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| February 9, 2011 |
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"The state has maintained eligibility for a boon of federal dollars from the ACA to help support the expansion of health coverage to more Californians while we wait until 2014 for health reform to fully kick in. This is good news and California is already benefiting from the ACA funding."
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| January 18, 2011 |
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California has made it clear: the successful implementation of the landmark Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is moving forward in our state. Health and Human Services secretary Diana Dooley said it best in a recent POLITICO article: ‘We want to be the lead car.’
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| January 10, 2011 |
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The California Endowment issued a press release in November calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to take 15 ‘Last Action’ items to help make the state healthier. In this radio interview, John Sepulvado, Health Care Reporter for Capital Public Radio talks with V.P. for The Endowment Daniel Zingale about the list, which includes allowing condoms in state prisons and offering bicycles to state employees.
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