Thoughts from the CEO
Happy summer everyone!

Next month marks the 5th anniversary of CARESTAR’s founding as a 501c3. It’s an exciting time for us as an organization, and even though much has occurred since we started this work – a global pandemic, a nationwide reckoning on racial inequality, challenges to our democracy, just to name a few – we remain unwavering in our commitment to bring greater racial equity to emergency and prehospital care in California. 

This summer I am particularly inspired by the progress we’re seeing in the policy world. For those of you who have been following us, you know that CARESTAR has been very involved in supporting the expansion of Community Paramedicine (CP) in California. The recent approval of the detailed regulations that define how CP can be implemented at the local level is historic (more about this below) and is one tangible way that prehospital care is adapting to better meet the needs of local communities. We are thrilled to see the program reach a point where it can spread across the state.

To compliment the innovations happening in care practice, we are also excited to continue to learn about, and fund, amazing organizations aligned with us in our vision for emergency and prehospital care. Organizations like City EMT and EMS Corps, both recent grantees, and both working hard to ensure that California’s first responder workforce looks more like the communities they are set up to serve.

Progress is not always obvious and the road to change is often slow; however, we are optimistic for what lies ahead and look forward to our ongoing efforts with innovative leaders within Local Emergency Medical Services agencies and forward-thinking community-based organizations in pursuit of our mission.

Thank you to all of you that have supported our work and served as thought partners these past five years! 🙏🏻🙏🏽🙏🏿

 
In community and partnership,
Tanir
$100K Leighton Memorial Award Applications Due July 22
Applications for the annual Leighton Memorial Award are still being accepted, now through July 22.

This award is a $100,000 unrestricted gift, given out annually to a coalition or collaborative in a rural, frontier, or tribal area in California, that has demonstrated success in improving emergency and prehospital care with a focus on improving racial equity. The award is intended to specifically recognize multi-agency coalitions/collaboratives that:

  • serve a population/community that experiences racial health disparities or inequitable healthcare;
  • are reflective and inclusive of the communities they serve; and
  • seek to impact broader systems change to emergency and prehospital care (e.g. organizational practice or policy changes).

More detail about the award, eligibility, and evaluation criteria, as well as a link to the application form can be found here.
Community Paramedicine Regulations Get Unanimous Approval
Last month, the EMSA Commission unanimously approved the Community Paramedicine (CP) & Triage to Alternate Destination Regulations, paving the way for new CP programs to be developed across the state. This exciting initiative will also provide training for broader patient-centered care and expand the transport options for patients beyond emergency rooms, to other community-based providers such as mental health facilities.

In September 2020, Governor Newsom signed AB 1544 (the Community Paramedicine or Triage to Alternate Destination Act), directing EMSA to develop regulations for new and existing pilot programs and coming up with official guidelines for CP education and training. CARESTAR supported this process providing grants, in partnership with CVS Health, to enable CP pilot programs throughout California, and by participating on the educational standards development committee. Moving forward, with the approval of the regulations, CARESTAR will continue to actively support statewide CP expansion, offering new grants to launch CP in more local communities and by sponsoring workshops for EMS leaders wanting to understand the requirements.

There are many people who have been involved in this work providing their time and expertise, including Lou Meyer, Sandra Shewry, and Jane Smith. We are forever grateful for their leadership, patience, and unwavering dedication to supporting CP and believing in the power of this innovative model of practice.
Meet our Board Chair, Fatima Angeles!
Fatima Angeles - VP of Programs at The California Wellness Foundation
In February, Fatima Angeles, who in her day job serves as the executive director of the Levi Strauss Foundation, was elected as the new chair of the CARESTAR Foundation board of directors. We recently sat down with her to hear her thoughts on CARESTAR, the field of emergency and prehospital care, and how the current political and economic environment impacts how she thinks of her role.

In your opinion, what is CARESTAR’s most significant accomplishment so far?
I think the fact that CARESTAR as an organization, as a funder, has centered racial equity in its work is one of our greatest accomplishments. Equity is something that is hard to define and hard to measure; but once we made the commitment, we all very quickly rallied around it and are doing the work to set up systems and processes to hold ourselves accountable. I’m proud of the courageous conversations we’ve had, I’m proud that we are not backing away from being uncomfortable, and am so happy to see full engagement from our board and staff in moving this forward.

How are current times (COVID-19, the racial equity movement) shaping the way you will approach your role as board chair?
For me the role of the board is to assess, on an ongoing basis, how we are showing up as a partner to our grantees. Are we attuned to the challenges they are facing in doing their work? Are we examining how their needs are changing given the external environment? So, with all of these things happening now, the January 6th hearings, voter suppression, inflation – they all make me think about whether or not we are being responsive to the evolving needs of our partners, and not only at the funding level, but also from a policy standpoint and ensuring the political, social, and economic environment they operate in, supports their work.

Is there anything in particular you hope to accomplish as board chair?
I would love to really elevate emergency and prehospital care in the hearts, minds, and eyes of more people. We need to get more funders, more policymakers, more people in healthcare to prioritize emergency and prehospital care, and recognize the real damage being done to communities, to individuals, with the lack of racial equity in treatment and outcomes.

What do you do outside of chairing CARESTAR’s board?
I’m on the board of several other nonprofit organizations including the Sisters of St. Joseph Health Care Foundation, John Muir Health Systems, and Confluence Philanthropy. And several years ago, I helped start a Polynesian dance and music organization called Ka ‘Ohi Nani o Mana’olana. I love the community we’ve built around this culture and enjoy sharing it with friends and family!
Congrats to Jane Smith!

Congratulations to CARESTAR board member, Jane Smith on her recognition as EMS Educator of the Year at the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA) Awards ceremony on May 17, 2022. We are so proud to have you a part of our organization. Thank you for your leadership!
You can now find us at:

CARESTAR Foundation
921 Ensenada Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94707
Our Mission: To improve health outcomes for all Californians, we use a racial equity lens to fund and advocate for improvements in emergency and prehospital care.

Our Vision: All Californians experience emergency and prehospital care that is equitable, unified, and compassionate. The lives of people touched by trauma or injury dramatically improve because they receive the appropriate care, services and supports they need to heal and prevent re-injury.

©2022 CARESTAR Foundation. All rights reserved.