August 2021
Message From the Director

Greetings!
I hope everyone has been able to take some time to recharge with friends and family over the past month. We are excited to be kicking off August with a few scheduled check-ins with fellows and local health department representatives. We are also debuting the first installation of our blog series today!

As always, should you have any questions, comments, or technical assistance needs, please do not hesitate to reach out to the team.

In Health and Solidarity,

Wagahta Semere, MD, MHS
Fellowship Director & Assistant Professor
UCSF School of Medicine
Why does the Champion Provider Fellowship matter now more than ever?
By: Wagahta Semere, MD, MHS, Director, Champion Provider Fellowship

Welcome to the Champion Provider Fellowship blog! In this inaugural post, I thought I would talk a bit about who we are as a community and why we matter now more than ever. Let’s start with who we are. Read More.

AUGUST
Thursday, August 19, 2 - 3PM: Joint session with LHDs and fellows from cohorts 3 & 4 REGISTER


SEPTEMBER
Tuesday, September 7, 12:15 - 1:15PM: Webinar: Equitable Access to Parks and Green Spaces. Presenter: Mikaela Randolph, Children & Nature Network REGISTER
Fellow Activities
Congrats to Drs. Melissa Campos and Fadra Whyte for the publication in The San Diego Union Tribune. The article was also tweeted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest!
*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 share treatment protocol for patients. 
Policy Brief
California 2021 - 2022 State Budget Highlights

The 2021 - 2022 California State Budget was enacted on June 28, 2021. The budget includes several investments to support increased nutrition and food access. Learn more about some of those investments.

USDA Updates SNAP Benefits

Starting October 1, 2021 SNAP benefits will increase by nearly 25% from pre-pandemic levels. Read more about this historical investment.
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.
Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation of Harvard Law School. Summer 2021
Having demonstrated their efficacy, this articles explores three mechanisms through which produce prescriptions can be covered through Medicare Advantage as supplemental benefits.
Healthy Eating Research. July 2021
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is reauthorized every five years as part of the Farm Bill. The current Farm Bill is set to expire on September 30, 2023. Reauthorization presents an opportunity to explore opportunities to increase the public health impact of SNAP. Seven different opportunities are presented in this report.
Tanumihardjo JP, Gunter KE, and Peek ME. Health Affairs Blog. June 23, 2021.
The article highlights roles different health care organizations have played in their communities to address food security. The article includes examples and strategies from cities across the US.
Jenssen BP, Kelly MK, Powell M, Bouchelle Z, Mayne SL, Fiks AG. COVID-19 and Changes in Child Obesity. Pediatrics. 2021;147(5):e2021050123
Using a repeated cross-sectional research design, the authors measured the BMI of patients 2 - 17 years of age on a monthly basis from January 2019 to March 2020. All patients included in the study were those receiving care in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Care Network. Changes in BMI were assessed by race/ethnicity, age, insurance type, and neighborhood income. The study finds that pre-existing disparities prior to the pandemic by race/ethnicity, insurance status, and neighborhood socioeconomic status have widened.
Safe Routes Partnership, June 2021
The Safe Routes Partnership is releasing a series of toolkits and resources through the start of the new school year. In conjunction with the release of each set of resources, there will be an accompanying Zoom call to discuss preparation and implementation efforts.
More Opportunities
Eligible for CEUs
Launched on July 6, this online course seeks to raise awareness about an interdisciplinary model of care to deliver accessible, personalized nutrition and related services in a grocery store setting, and discusses how collaboration of a RDN with the patients’ physician and other community-based health professionals benefits both patients and health care providers.

This course is intended for the following audiences: physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, and other allied health professionals.
Save the date for the upcoming 2021 School Health Conference November 2 - 4, 2021. The conference will be hosted virtually. Registration details and workshop topics will be announced later this summer. A list of the conference's keynote speakers is now available online.