Dear CIN Colleagues,

In honor of Black History Month, we’re sharing the origins of the celebration, key efforts by the California Health Care Foundation (CIN’s sponsoring organization) to advance health equity for Black Californians, and an essential CIN resource for improving health by addressing racism.

We’re also announcing CHCF’s Kathryn E. Phillips, who has guided CIN’s strategy since 2016, is passing the baton for this role to Diana Camacho as she takes on a new role to advance CHCF's workforce investments. CIN wouldn’t be the impactful and adaptive community it has become without Kathryn’s tireless leadership, passion for improvement, and expansive vision.

Under Kathryn’s leadership, CIN became more focused in intent and programming, embraced a shared governance model, and grew in size – in 2022, CIN partner organizations served more than 25.6 million Californians. Continuous improvement of CIN’s design has now brought about goals to advance health equity and support CalAIM with the inclusion of CBO partners that provide non-medical support services to patients. Thank you, Kathryn!

Diana Camacho joins CIN with extensive experience in developing partnerships to improve community health, Medicaid care delivery, and health equity. Her work at CHCF is focused on improving access to coverage and care for Californians with low incomes, including projects on telehealth and health equity. Please give Diana a warm welcome!

Read on for fresh resources to help you in your work to improve equitable care experiences and outcomes, including a new CIN webinar on gaining cultural competency when working with indigenous people.

Thursday, April 6, 12:00 - 1:00 PM Pacific

California is home to over one hundred federally recognized indigenous Tribes, each recognized as a sovereign government with its own unique language, customs, and traditions. California indigenous people have experienced attempted genocide, forced removal from their lands, and the destruction of cultural practices. These traumatic experiences, also known as historical trauma, continue to impact the health of Tribal people.

In this CIN webinar, Gayle Zepeda, a Tribal leader and adjunct professor at Mendocino College in Ukiah, will provide historic and contemporary information about issues that impact the health of indigenous people in California with a focus on how federal and state policies continue to shape health outcomes.

This webinar is open to all and encouraged for individuals working at health and human services organizations that are interested in learning more about how to best partner and work with Tribes and Tribal health consortia across California.

Community Clinic Workers in Los Angeles Invited to Build Leadership Skills

California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) presents a significant opportunity for collaboration between community-based organizations (CBOs) and the Medi-Cal system. Here are some related resource and opportunities for CIN members:

1. California Bets Big on Housing in Medicaid. This story on how CalAIM will support safe, stable housing for folks with Medi-Cal coverage is also a good background piece on how CalAIM will work in a variety of ways to meet the whole-person health needs of Californians.

2. How can community-based organizations better understand how to get involved with CalAIM? CHCF has launched a new resource center for CBOs that wonder if CalAIM is a good fit for them and how to engage in CalAIM. The materials include explainers for how CBOs can partner with managed care plans, detailed toolkits in financial planning and contracting, and new technical assistance resources.

3. CHCF wants to hear from the people who are implementing CalAIM. They are conducting 90-minute online focus groups and a survey with health professionals and others serving Medi-Cal patients to better understand their experiences with CalAIM. Findings will be published and inform CHCF’s work in supporting CalAIM implementation. Sign up now.

People experiencing homelessness – more than 580,000 Americans on any given night – are likely to have multiple chronic medical or mental health conditions. Homelessness increases morbidity associated with cardiovascular, respiratory, and infectious diseases. A trauma-informed approach to caring for people experiencing homelessness is imperative because previous exposure to physical or sexual trauma is common in this population, especially among women.

This concise resource offers the latest considerations in how to screen, treat, and manage patients experiencing homelessness to offer the best care possible during unstable circumstances.