December 2021
Reminder! In October we introduced new icons corresponding to our five focus areas. Find articles and resources that correlate to your areas of interest by using the icon key below.
By: Vivian Yang, MD, Family Medicine Physician and Champion Provider Fellow (Cohort 4, Riverside County)

The first time I called time of death, I thought, “This is the absolute worst part of my job and I never want to do this again.” I was out of breath, having just run back up the stairs after getting a frantic phone call from the nurse. I had just left my patient’s room moments ago; she was in stable condition with her five sisters and her mother by her side. When I returned, they were in tears and the mother was on the verge of passing out. After they left the room, I performed a careful death exam, struggling to listen for absent heart sounds over the wailing cries of her sisters in the hallway. Read More
Note: The Mini College and all other trainings are open to fellows past and current.
Fellow Activities
New Success Stories! Two new success stories featuring Drs. Laurie Bostick Cammon (Cohort 3, Santa Clara County) and Barry Chang (Cohort 3, Yolo County) are now available online. Drs. Emma Steinberg & Kimberly Newell Green (Cohort 3, San Francisco County) also participated in a short discussion about how they built partnerships to advance PSE goals.
Dr. Tim Wong (Cohort 4, Los Angeles County) along will fellow board members from the Chinese American Dental Society of SoCal recently applied for funding from the American Dental Association to host a one-day community event Give Kids a Smile. He also participated in a California Dental Association (CDA) Delegate meeting regarding future policy initiatives to support increased oral health awareness in California.
Dr. Trinidad Solis (Cohort 4, Fresno County), in collaboration with the Fresno County Health Department, applied for and was awarded funding to increase the number of community health workers (CHWs) in Fresno County. Collaborating with CHWs, Dr. Solis will be working to increase the nutritional health literacy rates in the county's rural population to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases.
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 share treatment protocols for patients. 
Policy Brief
New Policy Report
Integrating Food into Health Care: A Landscape Analysis of Medically Supportive Food and Nutrition Interventions in California
Champion Provider Fellows Drs. Emma Steinberg and Kimberly Newell Green (San Francisco County, Cohort 3) served on the project steering committee for the recently published policy report Integrating Food into Health Care: A Landscape Analysis of Medically Supportive Food and Nutrition Interventions in California. The report summarizes the result of a landscape analysis of all currently operating Medically-Supportive Food and Nutrition (MSF&N) programs in California.
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.
Beers A., Finisse V., Moses K., Crumley D., and Sullivan D. Center for Health Care Strategies and Equitable Spaces. December 2021.

This report seeks to identify opportunities to improve the health needs of those individuals enrolled in Medicaid and food programs. They outline four broad recommendations:
  1. Reimagine sustainable community engagement strategies
  2. Center equity, humanity, and dignity in policymaking and implementation
  3. Address persistent eligibility and enrollment challenges through partnerships
  4. Use Medicaid levers to screen for food insecurity and provide needed services
Cohen J, Turner L, and Schwartz M. Healthy Eating Research. November 2021

While 34.9% of all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) are in rural areas and NSLP participation rates tend to be higher in those communities than in urban areas, rural participants often cite lower satisfaction with school meals. Additionally, differences in nutritional school meal quality have often been cited, with rural school meals less likely to align with federal nutrition guidelines. This report provides an overview of characteristics of rural school meal operations, unique challenges that programs face, and opportunities for innovation.
Jutte, D. P., Badruzzaman, R. A., & Thomas-Squance, R. (2021). Academic Pediatrics, 21(8, Supplement), S184-S193. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2021.04.027

This article outlines resources available to improve health and opportunities at the neighborhood level for children. It also discusses a variety of ways that pediatricians can be effective in catalyzing and accelerating community development efforts.
Friedman E and Johnson J. Center for Science in the Public Interest. November 2021

The Center for Science in the Public Interest collaborated with the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to provide recommendations for policy reforms for healthier food banking donations. Recommendations in this report include prioritizing nutrition in USDA Food Distribution Programs, more state farm-to-food bank funding, and more state organic waste bans.
More Opportunities
Save-the-date! Registration for the National Anti-Hunger Policy Conference will open January 2022. In addition to the main conference, they will be hosting a virtual lobbying day on Friday, March 18.