October 2022

Message from the Director


We were thrilled to be back in person last month for our 2022 Mini College, hosted at The California Endowment Sacramento! It was wonderful to have the opportunity to network and learn together. 


The day opened with an inspiring talk from Dr. Amy Beck, UCSF Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Champion Provider Fellow Alumna, sharing her multi-pronged approach to promoting physical activity and healthy beverage intake among children in safety-net health settings. Erica Eilenberg, CDPH Nutrition Education & Obesity Prevention Branch Chief, and Dr. Jayanth Kumar, CDPH State Dental Director, shared how Champion Providers and their Local Health Department representatives can play a key role in addressing Cal Fresh Healthy Living and Oral Health Program priority areas. Brown Miller Communications provided practical skills for leveraging social media platforms and hosted a fireside chat with Lawrence C. Lee, Publisher and President of The Sacramento Observer, who provided valuable insights into the power of messaging through ethnic and community media outlets. A special thank you to our Champion Provider Fellows (Dr. Rakhi Singh, Dr. Melissa Campos, Dr. Fadra Whyte, and Dr. Kristen Hughes) who presented for our Works in Progress panel, sharing their experiences working alongside their Local Health Department partners to put policy, systems, and environmental change into action in their local communities. You can visit the Fellowship website for presenter slides and handouts. 

This fall, we will open applications to recruit for the Champion Provider Fellowship 2023 Cohort. Local health departments are invited to join the November Quarterly LHD Call to learn more about the application process. Please register for the call here. Applications open November 1st and the submission deadline is December 16th. Please contact the team at championprovider@ucsf.edu if you have questions.

In Health and Solidarity,



Wagahta Semere, MD, MHS

Fellowship Director & Assistant Professor

UCSF School of Medicine

Reminder! Find articles and resources related to your area(s) of interest by clicking on the icon(s) that correspond to our five focus areas, below:

A Young Girl Making a Pitch for Her Family's Health

By: Madhu Raghavan, MD, FAAP

Champion Provider Fellow (Cohort 3, Santa Cruz County)


Kaleah was a cheery 11-year-old who loved spending time with her family, but when I first met her in the clinic during her annual check-up, she was depressed and suffering from childhood obesity. I learned that Kaleah’s 17-year-old brother, who she idolized, and was a standout player on his high school baseball team, had recently suffered a stroke. He was in therapy relearning how to walk and talk.    Read More



NOVEMBER

Thurs. Nov 10 | 12:15 - 1:15pm | Register

Quarterly Works-In-Progress Call (Fellows)

Thurs. Nov 17 | 12:15 - 1:15pm | Register

Recruitment Q&A Webinar (LHDs)

Fellow Activities

Dr. Timothy Wong (Cohort 4, Los Angeles County) (left) was interviewed by Vision Latina.

Read More
Reminder! Brown·Miller Communications is here to help you!
Need help with message development, op-ed support, or preparing for an interview? Make sure to contact Mike Miller or Muriel Bañares of Brown·Miller Communications. They provide a multitude of media and communication services to Champion Provider Fellows and local health departments. Send them an email to find out how they can help you!
*Champion Provider Listserv*
Collaborate & communicate with Champion Provider
Fellows across the state about your community change efforts.
Post a message by emailing: champion-providers@googlegroups.com
NOTE: Please do not use the listserv to promote lobbying efforts or to discuss patient care. 
Join Listserv
Policy

Biden-Harris Administration National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health


The Biden-Harris Administration released its National Strategy on September 27, 2022, ahead of the White House Conference on Nutrition, Hunger, and Health with the goal to end hunger and reduce diet-related illnesses and health disparities by increasing healthy eating and physical activity by 2030. The administration calls for transformative programs, policies, and system changes inside and outside the government to achieve this vision. Making progress requires collective, sustained action and mobilization across every sector across the United States.


Read more here

From the Field
Note: Materials included in this section are for reference and information purposes only and do not imply endorsement by the federal government, California Department of Public Health, or the University of California, San Francisco.

Food Insecurity Screening Toolkit

Feeding America (2022).


To raise awareness and to offer suggestions for how healthcare and non-health care professionals might treat food insecurity in individuals. This resource is intended to support both healthcare and non-healthcare providers as they identify individuals who are food insecure and to make connections with community resources to help individuals improve their access to healthy food, their diet quality and ultimately their health.


Find more information about the toolkit here.

One Healthy Day at a Time: Healthy Day Toolkit


Alliance for a Healthier Generation (2022).


 The Healthy Day Toolkit helps caregivers support students with a home routine that prioritizes, connection, nutrition, movement, learning, celebration, and rest.


Find more information about the toolkit here.

Providing School Meals to All Students Free of Charge during COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Challenges and Benefits Reported by School Foodservice Professionals in California


Zuercher, M.D., Cohen, J.F.W., Hecht, C.E., Hecht, K., Ritchie, L.D., & Gosliner, W. Nutrients (2022), 14(18), 3855.


Universal school meals (USM) have the potential to increase access to healthy food for millions of U.S. students. This study evaluated school food authorities’ (SFA) perspectives of federal USM in response to COVID-19 (school year (SY) 2021–22) and California’s upcoming USM policy in the SY 2022–23.


Read the entire article here.

More Opportunities

Focus Group Opportunity: Healthy Eating Research (HER) is recruiting


To inform the development of continuing education content, HER is conducting focus groups with Pediatricians and Family Medicine Physicians to:


  1. Deepen understanding of current beverage education and counseling practices;
  2. Gather additional insights into perceived barriers and facilitators to implementing the consensus beverage recommendations in practice; and
  3. Determine how and if the Electronic Health Record is used to collect information on children and families' beverage consumption


A $75 stipend will be provided for participation in a focus group.


Interested? Contact Health Eating Research at healthyeating@duke.edu

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