On Monday, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, District Court Judge Thad Balkman ruled that Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals sparked the state’s opioid crisis by deceptively marketing opioid products, ordering the company to pay the State of Oklahoma $572 million. The amount ordered by the judge fell well short of the $17.5 billion initially sought by…
Read More »This morning, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a nationwide health advisory related to the multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary injury associated with use of electronic cigarette products (devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges) containing nicotine or cannabis. The CDC advisory details outbreak background and recommendations for clinicians, public health officials,…
Read More »On Thursday, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams issued a national health advisory, warning that consuming cannabis is particularly dangerous to pregnant women, developing babies, and teenagers. Surgeon General Adams, during a news conference, expressed concern that many Americans are unaware of the health hazards posed by professionally grown cannabis crops, describing today’s cannabis as far…
Read More »U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Dr. Nancy Messonnier this week indicated there is a “reasonable chance” the United States will lose its measles elimination status in October 2019, largely caused by ongoing measles outbreaks in New York. Recall, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared…
Read More »The California State Association of Counties (CSAC), CHEAC, California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH), County Behavioral Health Directors Association (CBHDA), and the County Welfare Directors Association (CWDA) released this week a summary document of the final public charge rule that was published in the Federal Register earlier this month. Recall, the Trump…
Read More »Public Health Advocates will host its fall conference “Rooted in Community: Moving from Trauma to Healing” on November 20 and 21 at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach. The conference will include topics such as critical lessons in equity, the role of social support in individual and community healing, redesigning organizational culture, trauma-informed education, and climate…
Read More »As a friendly reminder, registration for the 2019 CHEAC Annual Meeting will close in just over one week on September 1. This year’s annual meeting will be held from October 9 – October 11 at the Westin Pasadena and will provide local health department professionals representing a wide variety of disciplines throughout California with networking…
Read More »Governor Gavin Newsom, joined by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) and California Volunteers, on Tuesday officially launched Listos (Ready) California, the new statewide emergency preparedness campaign aimed at building resiliency in vulnerable communities at high risk for wildfire and other disasters. The campaign is an effort to boost disaster preparedness by engage a…
Read More »On Tuesday, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the appointment of John Connolly as the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) Deputy Secretary of Behavioral Health. Connolly has been the director of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Control Division at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) since 2018. He has also served as…
Read More »Citing recent changes to rules governing the federal Title X family planning program, Planned Parenthood this week announced its nationwide exit from the program. Recall, the Trump Administration in March set forth a final rule that prohibits Title X from referring patients to certain reproductive health services and further specifies that clinics that refer patients…
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