CDPH in the News
Global Business Leaders Launch Responsive.org
from PR Newswire
Global business leaders have come together to launch Responsive.org – a community promoting and enabling thinkers and practitioners in new ways of working for the 21st Century. Undercurrent, Yammer, Zappos, Khan Academy, California Department of Public Health and Percolate are among the first companies to sign on as part of the movement in creating a fundamental shift in our way of working and organizing. Responsive.org has been created to be the home for leaders and teams who are already experimenting with new, 21st century, ways of working. Responsive.org is an online community and resource, promoting and enabling a fundamental shift in the way businesses work and organize.
CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH WARNS OF E-CIGARETTES USE
from ABC30
The California Department of Public Health announced growing concerns over e-cigarettes or "vaping." The department also made its first public push to discourage people from using the devices. Both opponents and proponents of the devices agree that "vaping" or the use of e-cigarettes is rapidly growing in popularity with more shops opening up here in the Central Valley. Still, state health officials had a stern warning for adults and teens about taking part in the new smoking trend. Satyr Vapor in Northeast Fresno only opened a few months ago but already business is booming.
No proof that Bay Area parents held rumored measles parties
from KTVU
The news about Bay Area parents holding "measles parties" spread like wildfire across the country, but KTVU found out there is no actual proof these parties are actually happening. The parties were reportedly a way for un-vaccinated children to catch measles by hanging out with sick children in an attempt to build their immune system. The story sounds similar to chicken pox parties in the past. So how did the story start making national headlines? It appears it may have stemmed from a statement the California Department of Public Health gave in response to media requests for comment.
Excerpts of Emails Between Disneyland and Health Officials
from Seattle Post-Intelligencer
After the measles outbreak became public, Disneyland officials emailed California public health experts asking them to emphasize that such an outbreak could happen anywhere and it was safe to visit the theme park, according to correspondence obtained through a public records request.
Excerpt from email from Disneyland’s Cathi Killian to California Department of Public Health’s Ron Owens on Jan. 15 titled "Information for the Website": "Per our conversation, below are some thoughts. Basically, our goal is to ensure people know that the exposure period at the Disneyland Resort is now over, that this has nothing to do with Disneyland and this could happen anywhere."
Director of California Department of Public Health: Who Is Karen Smith?
from AllGov California
Napa County is losing its longtime public health officer to the state. Governor Jerry Brown announced the appointment of Dr. Karen Lee Smith, an infectious disease specialist, as director of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Dr. Smith, 58, earned a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. She worked in communicable disease control in Morocco, Thailand and Nepal before receiving a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Stanford University School of Medicine in 1992.
Free condom-by-mail program set for San Bernardino County
from SB Sun
A program designed to reduce sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers ? by providing free condoms via the mail ? has expanded its service into San Bernardino County, which officials say has the state?s fifth highest chlamydia rate. San Bernardino County also ranks 11 among the state’s 58 counties for its gonorrhea rates, according to California Department of Public Health officials. Some 11,688 teenagers receive free condoms by mail through The Condom Access Project, which began in 2012.