As the summer winds down and we approach autumn, we’re reminded that this time of year can be volatile in California. Recent triple-digit temperatures and offshore gusts have fueled some of the largest wildfires in the state’s history, setting a new record with over 3 million acres of California blackened by wildfire. To put that in perspective — it’s an area equivalent to all of Los Angeles County consumed by flames. On behalf of the HASC team, our thoughts and support are with those impacted by the fires.

HASC is supporting firefighting efforts, in part, by working with Southern California Edison (SCE) to promote improved communication and clarify processes and protocols in advance of Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) events. Most recently, many of our hospitals answered the call to aid in energy conservation efforts and were among the largest contributors of energy use reduction, to the point that executives at SCE publicly complimented hospitals for their efforts. As a reminder, if your facility has not yet appointed a point of contact for receiving alerts for potential PSPS or other energy-related alerts, you can update your contacts through MyAccount on sce.com at www.sce.com/mysce/login or by contacting Veronica Diaz at veronica.diaz@sce.com or Joyce Lui at joyce.lui@sce.com.

This is also a critical time regarding flu season. An influenza outbreak this year could have a double impact on health care and threaten to over-burden health care resources already stretched thin by COVID-19. The association remains optimistic that it will be a tamer flu season as communities continue to practice safety precautions brought on by COVID-19. Now, however, isn’t the time to let down our guard. That said, there’s encouraging news that COVID-19 rates are largely stabilizing across the state and region — but the health care community rightfully urges people to continue to maintain the same level of vigilance and discipline as it relates to the adherence of safety guidelines.

With the California Hospital Association (CHA) in Sacramento, we’ve been keeping our eyes on important legislative actions. Hospitals recently marked a win with Assembly Bill 890’s passage, which significantly expands scope of practice for the state’s nurse practitioners. When signed by the governor, the new law will have a wide impact on increased access to care. We’ve seen other positive outcomes in Sacramento too — the expansion of telehealth for 5150 holds and releases, and the defeat of a bill that would have expanded the state Attorney General’s power to approve or block hospital mergers. A full list of the outcomes for the most impactful bills for hospitals is available here.

I’m also very proud this month as our own Communities Lifting Communities (CLC) community health initiative heads towards another year of operations. As you know, CLC is transitioning to nonprofit status during the coming year. The ongoing pandemic has only underscored the critical work CLC is doing to improve racial and social disparities that impact health in partnership with hospitals, public health and other stakeholders. To learn more, view this attached fact sheet.

Thanks to members who took part in our Aug. 26 Board meeting where I provided a President’s Report outlining HASC’s COVID-19 response efforts to address our member needs in the areas of advocacy, Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF), child care, staffing, the influenza season and COVID-19, PSPSs, frontline worker fatigue and more. We also provided overviews of issues that we anticipate will require critical focus, such as the exacerbation of mental health and substance use as a result of the pandemic and a potential surge of pediatric patients as many schools reopen for in-class learning. Our ongoing progress around PPE procurement and the development of a consortium with our member hospitals and the Logistics Victory Los Angeles (LoVLA) project was also shared with the Board.

I miss the more informal interaction that comes with meeting under the same roof. Know that my “door” is always open to you — via phone and email, if you have anything to ask or discuss.

Take care.

George G.

Contact:
George W. Greene, Esq.
(213) 538-0706
ggreene@hasc.org