We're Hiring | New Study Finds Telehealth Helped Bridge Healthcare Access Inequities During COVID | The Role of ERs in Addressing Youth Substance Use

PHI Study Finds Telehealth Helped Bridge Striking Inequities in Healthcare Access During the Pandemic

A new study from PHI’s Alcohol Research Group (ARG) found that during the pandemic Hispanic/Latinx respondents were 20 percentage points less likely to receive needed general healthcare?and 18 percentage points less likely to receive behavioral healthcare,?than White respondents.?Respondents delayed getting care?largely due to pandemic-related issues like medical office closures, lockdowns, or fear of infection, as well as cost.?

Temporary telehealth policies put in place during the pandemic proved critical to increasing access: 98% of Hispanic/Latinx respondents who received any behavioral healthcare during this period used telehealth for their care. Lower-income and higher-income groups were very similar in their use of telehealth for behavioral healthcare (88% and 86%, respectively). While some pandemic telehealth policies have been extended, many are not permanent.?"If we eliminate the very policies that increase access for underserved groups," said ARG study author?Nina Mulia, "then we would be taking a big step backward for health equity.” See the press release →

The Role of Emergency Departments in?Addressing Youth Substance Use

Opioid overdose and related hospitalization rates are growing fast among teenagers and young adults, yet young people have some of the lowest rates of substance use treatment. PHI’s CA Bridge Youth Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) pilot project established a youth advisory council and worked with youth partners to develop strategies so?hospital emergency departments can help reverse these trends. In two years, the four participating hospitals screened?over?26,000 youth and referred over 1,100 young people to?substance use navigators for?ongoing treatment. CA Bridge also produced outreach materials in English, Spanish and Chinese for youth and healthcare providers, focusing on best practices in clinical and patient education. Read the impact story and see the outreach materials?→

Upcoming Webinars, Events & Trainings

State of Equitable Care for Persons with Disabilities: Fifty Years after Civil Rights Laws

Thursday, February 23 | 11:30am-1pm

Despite multiple laws requiring the provision of equitable care, research repeatedly demonstrates that Americans with disabilities experience disparities and inadequate healthcare. In this webinar from PHI’s Pacific ADA Center, learn about major areas in which there are persistent gaps in the quality and equity of care delivered to persons with disabilities?and?explore promising?solutions. Tune in →

Strategies for Managing Toxic Stress & Burnout

Tuesday, February 28 | 11:30am-12:30pm PT

Those who work in overdose prevention often experience unprecedented levels of toxic stress. The added stressors brought on by the pandemic, natural disasters and systemic racism have made matters worse. Join PHI’s National Overdose Prevention Network to hear?PHI’s Brooke Briggance, a certified trainer in Mental Health First Aid, share the seven types of rest you can implement to manage stress and burnout. Register →

More from PHI

• Podcast: Ending Food Waste & Feeding Billions: On the latest episode of?Flipping the Table, PHI’s Michael Dimock speaks with Rick Nahmias, founder of the food recovery program Food Forward. This year, Food Forward plans to recover?and donate about 70 million pounds of fresh produce?that would otherwise go to waste. "[There is] this huge amount of supply, that just needs logistical support and distribution to alleviate a huge amount of food insecurity... This is not a supply problem, it's a distribution problem," said Rick. Hear the podcast?→
• Partnering with CBOs for?COVID Recovery: In response to COVID, PHI’s Communities RISE Together is working?220 counties in 27 states in communities with low vaccination rates, and partnering?with?2,400 community-based organizations who have reached over 100 million people across the nation. Through creative, grassroots approaches, RISE has vaccinated over 190,000 people and referred over 381,000 people to well-being services such as housing, food, employment, transportation, childcare, healthcare and more. Read the impact story?→
• PHI Study Shows SF’s Soda Tax is Working: A new PHI study shows that sugary drink consumption in San Francisco dropped 34% in the first two years after the city’s soda tax was passed—adding to the growing body of evidence that soda taxes both reduce consumption and increase revenue. "It also showed that the effect of the tax actually grew over two years," said study author Dr. Lynn Silver with PHI's Prevention Policy Group on?KCBS Radio.?"So some people wondered whether the tax effects would disappear over time, and that did not appear to be the case." Listen to the?KCBS Radio?interview and see more news coverage in?Axios?→
• New CA Policies?Support Communities Most Affected by Asthma: In 2022, PHI’s Regional Asthma Management and Prevention (RAMP) program advanced two critical Medi-Cal policies to provide?coverage for home-based asthma education, environmental trigger assessments and asthma remediation supports. "Both policy wins have major implications for increased access to home visiting services for people with poorly controlled asthma, which will improve health outcomes, reduce asthma disparities, and decrease healthcare utilization costs," said RAMP director?Anne Kelsey-Lamb. Read the impact story?→
• Supporting Community & Individual Resilience: PHI’s Cypress Resilience Project?builds community and individual capacity and skills to manage trauma, experience grief and navigate mental health challenges. Cypress provides trainings in over 20 topics including Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), trauma, self-care?and more. Since the program's launch, 3,159 people have been certified in MHFA?and 13,809 have been trained in trauma-informed practices and grief support. In 2022 alone, Cypress Resilience Project certified 1,270 people in MHFA. Read the full story?→
• Launching the Next Generation of?Global Public Health Leaders: Through the PHI/CDC Global Health Fellowship Program, emerging public health professionals have the opportunity to build their capacity and skills in global public health and receive hands-on, experiential training. In 2022, the program expanded by 43% and onboarded 40 fellows, with recruitment focused on recent college graduates from underrepresented communities—helping to create?a more diverse and strong public health workforce. See the impact story?→

We're Hiring

PHI is dedicated to promoting health, well-being and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world. Join us:

• Training Coordinator:?Remote, SF Bay Area only. The Training Coordinator for PHI’s Cypress Resilience Project will manage the training schedule, support training implementation, provide TA to registrants and participants, respond to general inquiries and more.
• Programmer Analyst II:?Remote, USA. The Programmer Analyst II for PHI’s Children’s Oncology Group will design, develop, troubleshoot, maintain, and update client/server software applications using Microsoft .NET technologies, Microsoft Visual Basic.NET, SQL Server, Transact SQL, HTML, ASP.NET, C# and other software tools.
• Digital Communications Strategist:?Remote, USA. This role will help to amplify and share organizational messages to external and internal audiences by creating web content and managing the backend of websites, building and sending online newsletters and announcements, maintaining PHI’s online subscriber and staff lists, using social media and online tools and more.
• Environmental Analytical Chemist RA IV:?Berkeley, CA. PHI seeks a full-time Research Associate IV to work with the Environmental Chemistry Laboratory at the Department of Toxic Substances Control?to conduct research and analysis of toxic and persistent organic pollutants, and non-targeted chemicals in humans and wildlife, products, dust and the environment.
• Executive Assistant I:?Oakland, CA/Remote. This position provides administrative support for the Executive Department, performing highly confidential and sensitive tasks and interacting with PHI executives, staff, and the general public.

See all open positions at PHI?→

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