Program areas at PHFE
Epidemiology laboratory and capacity (elc) - reopening schools:heluna Health has partnered with the California department of Public Health to support comprehensive covid-19 screening for k-12 schools (Public and private). A key goal of this initiative was to establish covid-19 screening programs in schools starting in april 2021, extending through the end of the school year and into subsequent school year, as funds allowed. This program built on cdc's elc cooperative agreements enhancing detection (ed) and elc ed expansion supplements, and ensures a holistic assessment and monitoring of disease burden within any given community.
Wic: the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children:wic is a usda-funded food and nutrition education program for pregnant, breastfeeding, and postpartum women, infants and children under the age of five who are lower income (up to 185% of poverty level) and at nutritional risk. Established in 1974, the goal of the wic program is to improve the Health and nutritional status of participants during critical times of growth and development. Core wic services include nutrition education, breastfeeding education and support, referrals to community services and nutritious foods. Approximately 20% of the individuals served are women, 25% are infants, and the remaining 55% are children age one to five.phfe wic has been providing high-quality wic services in los angeles county for over 40 years, orange county for 24 years, and san bernardino county for 15 years. Forty-seven wic centers are strategically located in high-density areas of need throughout the three counties serving a caseload of approximately 190,000 participants each month. Phfe wic has approximately 580 employees, which include 170 nutritionists, other professionals such as lactation consultants and breastfeeding peer counselors, and 375 paraprofessionals providing culturally appropriate services to eligible families.the Phfe wic program is the largest local agency wic program in the country serving approximately 4% of the nation's total and 23% of California's total wic participants. Approximately eighty-four percent of the clients served by Phfe wic are latino, 6% are african-american, 6% are asian, 3% are caucasian and 1% are native american. Phfe wic provides services and written information in english, spanish, chinese, vietnamese, korean, arabic and armenian. In 2019, wic began providing food benefits to families by introducing the California wic card. This important change substantially improved the wic participant experience. Since the start of the covid pandemic Phfe wic pivoted to remote operations. During 2021, over 80% of staff were teleworking, providing core wic services remotely and providing benefits seamlessly to our families.the Phfe wic program is nationally recognized as a leader and innovator in nutrition education, breastfeeding support, staff training, customer service and outreach to community providers. In the last decade, Phfe wic has successfully implemented a number of publicly- and privately funded enhancements to core wic service, including parenting education and support groups, early literacy interventions, research involving childhood obesity, wic food package changes, nutrition education and breastfeeding as well as prenatal alcohol prevention and interconception care protocols. Today it continues to go beyond the scope of regular wic services in order to better serve the needs of local low-income families with young children.
Epidemiology laboratory and capacity (elc): since 1995, the epidemiology and laboratory capacity for prevention and control of emerging infectious diseases (elc) cooperative agreement has been critical to u.s. Health departments and their partners ability to combat infectious diseases. While beginning with only 10 recipients, that number incrementally grew, reaching the current complement of 64 jurisdictions in 2012. For a quarter-century, the elc cooperative agreement has supported all 50 states, several large local Health departments, and u.s. Territories and affiliates to detect, respond to, control, and prevent infectious diseases. Starting in 2020, this cooperative agreement has been the key vehicle to address the covid-19 pandemic in the united states. Since then, the primary focus of this funding is to detect, prevent and respond to the growing threats posed by infectious disease through three core areas: surveillance, detection and response; prevention and intervention; and communications, coordination and partnerships. Heluna Health has partnered with the California department of Public Health since 1995 to build and strengthen Public Health systems related to communicable diseases in california.epidemiology laboratory and capacity (elc) cdc covid-19 state, tribal, local, and territorial funding:the u.s. government has taken unprecedented action to address the Public Health threat posed by sars-cov-2. To accelerate response efforts, cdc received supplemental funds through five congressional acts: the coronavirus preparedness and response supplemental appropriations act, 2020; coronavirus aid, relief, and economic security act; paycheck protection program and Health care enhancement act; coronavirus response and relief supplemental appropriations act, 2021; and american rescue plan act of 2021. Cdc has been actively funding state, tribal, local, and territorial Public Health organizations to meet the challenges of this fast-moving Public Health threat. The elc cooperative agreement strengthens Public Health program growth while providing crucial flexibility needed to address emerging infectious disease threats. In the event of Public Health crisis, cdc often distributes funding through the elc cooperative agreement. Through this funding, Heluna Health has partnered with the California department of Public Health to both build and strengthen Public Health systems related to emerging infectious disease issues in California.
Other program services:1) contra costa Health services-public Health division - provides consultation and technical assistance with regard to community Health promotion for Health emergencies, Public Health, environmental Health, and emergency medical services. Heluna Health provides staffing and fiscal administrative support for contra costa programs.contra costa senior nutrition program (meals on wheels) -the senior nutrition program provides nutritious daily meals countywide for adults age 60+. They are served in a social setting at 17 contra costa cafes and 96 meals on wheels routes in local communities throughout the county, or delivered to the residence of homebound adults. Contra costa Health, housing and homeless services (h3) -Heluna Health supports contra costa county's Health, housing, and homeless services division (h3) by operating a homeless service delivery system that includes street outreach, respite and emergency shelters, independent living programs for transition-age youth, and permanent supportive housing for adults, youth, and families. 2) the California emerging infections program (ceip) is one of ten eip sites across the united states. Ceip is funded by the united states centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) and is fiscally sponsored by Heluna Health. As part of the eip network, ceip has been a critical national resource for the surveillance, prevention, and control of emerging infectious diseases. Ceip functions under a cooperative agreement with the cdc and is a collaboration between the California department of Public Health, the uc berkeley school of Public Health, the uc san francisco school of medicine, Heluna Health, and multiple bay area local Health jurisdictions.3) bridge hiv is a global leader in hiv prevention, research, and education. The program works with local and international communities to discover effective hiv prevention strategies through research, community partnerships, and educational initiatives. Operating as a clinical trials unit within the san francisco department of Public Health and affiliated with the university of California, san francisco, as well as Heluna Health as its fiscal sponsor. Bridge hiv conducts innovative research that guides global approaches in hiv prevention. Bridge hiv's heritage in the early fight against hiv/aids has made it a trusted and renowned resource for understanding hiv infection and disease. Bridge hiv engages in collaborations, such as the partnership with Heluna Health, that include studies to identify a safe and effective hiv vaccine, as well as other innovative biomedical hiv prevention strategies.4) the san francisco homeless outreach team (sfhot) is a collaboration between the san francisco department of Public Health, the san francisco human services agency, san francisco Public library, Heluna Health, and the san fransisco department of homelessness and supportive housing ("dhsh"). The program seeks to reach chronically homeless adults on the streets of san francisco that are high-risk, hard-to-engage, and typically do not seek services. Sfhot case managers, engagement specialists, and senior engagement specialists build a rapport with homeless adults and connect them with needed services. Heluna Health provides Public Health and administrative support for this program in partnership with the san francisco department of homelessness and supportive housing. 5) angels child care food program (ccfp) educates and trains licensed day care providers to provide nutritious meals that promote lifelong, healthy eating habits in children. Angels ccfp services licensed daycare providers in the los angeles, orange, riverside, san bernardino and ventura counties with a nutrition education and reimbursement program. Angels ccfp plays a vital role in improving the quality of daycare and making it more affordable for many low-income families. Providers receive nutrition training and monitored visits every four months to assure that they are providing the required meals to children in their care. Each day, thousands of children receive nutritious meals and snacks through the program.6) temporary personnel services - during the start of the covid-19 pandemic, Heluna Health was engaged to perform temporary personnel services for a variety of programs to assist in quickly hiring personnel to perform multiple functions and promote continued readiness, contact tracing and vaccination. These services continued through 2022. 7) training and education program services - Heluna Health provided several educational and training program services which include harm reduction and overdose education services, as well as std/hiv prevention and covid-19 related trainings, totaling over $1m.