Santa Clara County officials this week announced the creation of a new leadership team for the “South County: United for Health” effort to improve the health of residents in Morgan Hill, San Martin and Gilroy, and surrounding areas.
“South County: United for Health” was formed after the County’s Public Health Department received Community Transformation Grant funding from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control in October 2012, according to a press release from County staff. The project focuses on making improvements in several key areas: weight, nutrition, physical activity, tobacco exposure, and social and emotional wellness.
The new leadership team consists of representatives from Morgan Hill, Gilroy, the County’s Mental Health and Public Health Departments, the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce, local police departments, local school districts, Saint Louise Regional Hospital and other organizations.
Residents of South County have higher rates of many chronic diseases, as compared to residents of other areas of the County, according to County staff. The cost of these conditions can be “staggering:” 75 cents of every dollar spent on medical costs are used to treat these diseases. The costs do not include missed days of work or school, disability, reduced quality of life or premature death.
Despite the lop-sided health condition of South County residents, the region gets the lowest rate of County funding for health-related services than any other area of the County, according to Gilroy Mayor Don Gage.
“We’re trying to get more representation down here in South County,” said Gage, who is part of the new health initiative’s leadership team. “Seventy-eight percent of the services go to San Jose. The other 14 cities (in the County) share the other 22 percent.”
Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman, who represents District 1 on the board which includes South County, is the CTG Leadership Chair, and Erin O’Brien, CEO of Community Solutions, is the Co-Chair, according to County staff. A key role for the chairs is to inspire the community to create change in the physical environment and support organizational changes that prevent chronic diseases and foster social and emotional wellness.
“We are fortunate to have so many of our community’s strongest leaders as part of CTG’s Leadership Team,” Wasserman said. “Their diverse backgrounds and creative ideas will lead to the solutions we need to greatly improve the long-term health and well-being of our community.”
The specific target area of the project includes more than 93,000 residents in Gilroy and Morgan Hill, and parts of unincorporated San Martin. The grant emphasizes implementing long lasting solutions to address health disparities and improve health outcomes among low income and Latino residents.
The new leadership team will guide project implementation, identify ways to promote CTG strategies, and leverage resources, according to County staff. In addition, the team will implement strategies and policy changes in their own organizations, such as providing healthy food and beverage options at meetings and events. They will also work to develop relationships in the community that are crucial to the work of the project. The work on the grant will go through September 2014.
-Javier Aguirre, Santa Clara County
-Marilyn Ayala, Gilroy Unified School District
-Steve Betando, Morgan Hill Unified School District
-Nicole Charles, Office of Senator William Monning
-Rich Constantine, Morgan Hill City Council
-Rose DuMond, MHUSD
-Cheryl Ellemberg, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce
-Reymundo Espinoza, Gardner Health
-Chris Ghione, City of Morgan Hill
-Mary Hoshiko-Haughey, YMCA
-Larry McElvain, Discovery Counseling Center
-Erin O’Brien, Community Solutions
-Jan Peat, Gilroy Chamber of Commerce
-Dan Peddycord, Santa Clara County Public Health
-Nancy Pena, Santa Clara County Mental Health Department
-Donna Pray, Gilroy Foundation
-Claudia Rossi, MHUSD trustee
-Jaime Rosso, Gilroy Unified School District trustee
-Rene Santiago, Santa Clara County Health and Hospital System
-Corina Sapien, GUSD
-Jo Seavey-Hultquist, Kaiser Permanente
-Sister Rachel Silvestri, Saint Louise Regional Hospital
-Sandra Soto, District 19
-Sadie Sponsler, California Alliance with Family Farmers
-David Swing, Morgan Hill Police Department
-Steve Tate, Mayor of Morgan Hill
-Sherri Terao, Santa Clara County Mental Health Department
-Denise Turner, Gilroy Police Department
-Eleanor Villareal, Community Activist
-Mike Wasserman, Santa Clara County Supervisor
-Perry Woodward, Gilroy City Council
