HomeMy WebLinkAbout20200413_LtrToNewsom_CAHealthCorpCity of San Luis Obispo, Office of the City Council, 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401-3249, 805.781.7114, slocity.org
April 14, 2020
The Honorable Gavin Newsom
Governor of California
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: California Health Corps
Local County Preference for Deployment
Governor Newsom:
First, I would like to thank you for creating the California Health Corps program. In the face
of this unprecedented health crisis, this will put more critical healthcare workers on the front
lines in the fight against this pandemic.
As a Mayor representing the City of San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo County, I am
concerned that local healthcare workers who wish to assist local efforts might be deployed by
the California Health Corps program to other parts of the state. If that happens, our healthcare
assets, which are already strained, will lack the staffing necessary to handle the anticipated
surge in COVID-19 cases. This would be particularly pronounced in a rural county such as
ours as we focus on meeting our prospective COVID-19 cases with resources within our
county.
In reviewing the California Health Corps guidelines, it appears that while the guidelines say
that the California Department of Public Health “will try to match [the provider’s]
geographical preference,” there does not seem to be a mechanism in place to ensure that local
healthcare needs are being met before the state deploys Corps members to other regions. It is
important to ensure that rural counties like ours have the resources they need to protect their
residents – including adequate numbers of providers to administer care at emergency
Alternative Care Sites (ACS) such as the one currently located at California Polytechnic State
University in San Luis Obispo.
Therefore, I ask that you direct the California Health Corps program to work hand-in-hand
with counties to ensure that healthcare workers are first offered to their local county. If the
home county does not need the additional assistance at the time, the Corps member then could
be entered into the statewide pool and deployed to where he or she is needed. This would
accomplish the broader goals of the program (including reducing barriers to entry for
healthcare providers and staffing providers on the front lines at emergency ACS), while also
ensuring that rural counties are able to mobilize their residents to assist locally.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter and helping our state respond effectively
to this public health crisis.
Sincerely,
Heidi Harmon
Mayor
cc: San Luis Obispo City Council
State Senator Bill Monning, fax (916) 651 – 4917
State Assembly Member Jordan Cunningham, fax (916) 319-2135
Dave Mullinax, League of California Cities, dmullinax@cacities.org
Meg Desmond, League of California Cities, mdesmond@cacities.org