COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Health Services Agency

 

DATE:

April 15, 2002

BOARD MEETING DATE:

April 30, 2002

 

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Margaret Taylor, Director

San Mateo County Health Services Agency

SUBJECT:

Community Oriented Health Systems (COHS)

 

Recommendation

Adopt a resolution authorizing the President of the Board to accept a one year amendment to the grant from the Public Health Institute in the amount of $180,000 to continue the work of the Partnership for the Public's Health in collaboration with the Coastside community and the City of South San Francisco.

 

Background

On November 28, 2000, your Board adopted a resolution accepting a one year grant from the Public Health Institute in the amount of $150,000 to partner with the Coastside community and the City of South San Francisco to implement the Partnership for the Public's Health (Partnership). The Partnership for the Public's Health is an extension of the Community Oriented Health Systems (C.O.H.S.) pilot of an alternative system of delivering healthcare in our communities. Funding from the Public Health Institute helped to take the best practices from the pilot project in East Palo Alto and the Belle Haven area of Menlo Park and expand it to the Coastside and South San Francisco regions of the county through the Partnership.

 
 

During the past year, the Partnership has been successful in its expansion, including the following:

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Collaborated with the Hospital Consortium to conduct the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance (BRFS) and Quality of Life (QOL) random telephone surveys and conducted face-to-face surveys with residents who were not likely to have been able to participate via telephone.

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Staff within the Public Health Epidemiology Unit are shared with community partners to provide technical support and data analysis to the Coastside and SSF Partnerships.

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A training of natural leaders was conducted in collaboration with the Peninsula Community Foundation which taught community residents the necessary skills to learn about and advocate for community needs.

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Both communities are currently in the process of presenting the results of the BRFS and QOL surveys to the community and soliciting input around the establishment of community priorities to be addressed by the Partnership for the Public's Health.

Discussion

Based on the progress of the previous fiscal period, the Public Health Institute has agreed to continue funding for an additional three years (September 1, 2001 - August 31, 2004). These funds will be used to:

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continue to share staff (all three partners sharing the expense of an epidemiologist); South San Francisco and the County are also sharing the expense of a Community Program Specialist and;

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analyze results of community assessments and present data to community residents in order to set health priorities for the communities;

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work with community residents to develop program options for addressing health priority areas and involve community residents in the implementation of community awareness efforts;

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continue to support community leadership development efforts; and

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expand COHS efforts to other communities in the county.

 

We are late in submitting the amendment due to an administrative oversight in the department.

 

Vision Alignment

The amendment to the grant agreement with the Public Health Institute keeps the commitment of Ensuring Basic Health and Safety for All and goal number 8: Help vulnerable people - the aged, disabled, mentally ill, at-risk youth and others - achieve a better quality of life. The grant agreement contributes to this commitment and goal by working with communities to establish health-related priorities and develop strategies for addressing these priority areas.

 

Fiscal Impact

The term of the grant is extended one year until August 31, 2002; making the full term of the grant September 1, 2000, to August 31, 2002. The total amount of the grant is increased by $180,000; from $150,000 to $330,000. This is the second year of a four-year grant cycle. $180,000 was included in revenues and expenses in the FY 2001-02 budget for Health Administration. We expect to receive between $150,000 and $165,000 for each of the next two years under this grant. There is no new net county cost associated with receipt of this funding.