• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) introduced legislation to close the gaps in our health care system that “have left behind” minorities and underserved communities by incentivizing increased health provider participation in disadvantaged areas, according to a Dec. 19 statement. The Health Enterprise Zones Act would direct the Health and Human Services Secretary to accept applications and designate Health Enterprise Zones in areas with measurable and documented health disparities and poor health outcomes. “The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the severity of the inequities in our nation’s health care system,” Padilla said in a statement. “But inequitable access to quality, affordable health care long predates the pandemic. Centuries of structural and systemic racism continue to result in poorer health outcomes in communities of color. That is why our bill would incentivize health care providers to bring more services to structurally disadvantaged areas.”
• After a nationwide search, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the appointment of Mouhanad Hammami as the new Public Health Director, according to a Dec. 13 statement from the county. His first day will be Jan. 23, 2023. Dr. Hammami will assume the duties from Interim Public Health Director Daniel Nielson, who was appointed to the interim position following the departure of Van Do-Reynoso in July 2022. Nielson will continue to lead the Santa Barbara County Social Services Department. Hammami has more than 20 years of experience in public government administration and health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he served as the chief health strategist for Wayne County, Michigan. There, he assembled the COVID Command Center and team to address the county’s pandemic preparedness efforts, expanded testing, and established and implemented a successful vaccination plan. “I am so excited to be joining the public health team at Santa Barbara County and grateful for the trust of County Executive [Mona] Miyasato and the Board of Supervisors have placed in me to lead the department. This is such an important time for public health as we are recovering from a pandemic that reaffirmed the importance of public health,” Hammami said in a statement.
• Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statement after the vast majority of countries in the world signed a United Nations agreement to protect 30 percent of Earth’s lands and oceans by 2030, according to a Dec. 19 statement from the governor’s office. “Two years ago, California made history as the first state in the nation to set a goal to conserve 30 percent of our beautiful land and coastal waters by 2030—a model for global action to protect our planet,” Newsom said. “With the agreement signed in Canada, the rest of the world joins our pledge in one of the most transformative moments of human progress we’ve witnessed in our lifetimes.” In April, Newsom released the Pathways to 30-by-30: Accelerating Conservation of California’s Nature, which outlines how to achieve the state’s first-in-the-nation goal to conserve 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030 in order to protect biodiversity, expand access to nature, and tackle climate change. The strategy followed the governor’s executive order in October 2020, establishing the 30-by-30 goal. California has conserved 24 percent of its land and 16 percent of coastal waters. To reach 30 percent by 2030, the state’s strategy lays out several concurrent pathways, including accelerating regionally led conservation, buying strategic lands for conservation and access, expanding voluntary conservation easements, and aligning investments to maximize conservation benefits.
This article appears in Dec 22-29, 2022.
