Bits N Pieces

First Death from Influenza

The city health officer has confirmed the first influenza-associated death in an individual less than 65 years of age in Long Beach during the 2017-2018 flu season. The individual was in their 30s and had underlying health conditions.

“This death is a sober reminder that flu can cause serious illness,” said Anissa Davis, MD, Long Beach city health officer. “The Long Beach Health Department continues to recommend that all individuals six months of age and older get their flu vaccine. Getting the flu vaccine can prevent people from getting sick, or may lessen the severity of symptoms for those who become ill.”

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reported 74 cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated deaths among patients under 65 years of age to date during this flu season. Surveillance conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that the primary flu strain this season is influenza A (H3N2), which has been associated with higher rates of hospitalizations and deaths in persons 65 years and older and young children.

The CDC recommends flu vaccine for everyone over six months of age, especially those at greatest risk for complications and those who live with or care for these individuals:

• Pregnant women.
• Children younger than five years of age.
• Adults 65 years and older.
• People with weakened immune systems.
• Those with certain medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, or conditions affecting the nervous system.
• People who are overweight or obese.
• Those working or living in nursing homes or long-term care facilities.
• Health care personnel.
• Child care workers.

Symptoms of flu include: fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue. In addition to getting the flu vaccine, practicing good hygiene such as washing hands, covering one’s cough and staying home when sick can prevent those around you from becoming ill.

It is not too late to get vaccinated against the flu. The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services continues to vaccinate residents during the flu season.

Home Retrofits Exclude 34th State Senate District

Gerrie Schipske knows a thing or two about earthquake preparedness. She personally trained with CERT and started “Ready Long Beach” when she served on the Long Beach City Council in order to get residents ready for the coming major earthquake.

So Schipske, who is now a candidate for the 34th State Senate District, was more than a little concerned when she read earlier this week that none of the homeowners in the 34th State Senate District are eligible to receive a grant to seismically retrofit their houses.

“Last Monday, the State announced its 2018 Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program with a list of eligible zip codes. Not one zip code in the 34th State Senate District was included for funding,” says Schipske.

The Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) program (www.EarthquakeBraceBolt.com) provides up to $3,000 for a residential seismic retrofit that makes a house more resistant to earthquake activity such as ground shaking and soil failure by bolting the house to its foundation and adding bracing around the perimeter of the crawl space.

Schipske points out that several of the cities in the 34th State Senate District have older wood frame homes on a raised foundation and have a cripple wall space under the house, making them vulnerable during an earthquake.

“These homes need to be made more resistant to earthquake activity and their owners need to be eligible for the same financial assistance given in other parts of the State. I certainly will fight to make sure they are included in future funding when I am elected.”

2018 Impact Award Winners

The Long Beach City Prosecutor’s Office announced the winners of the Seventh Annual IMPACT Awards. The honors are bestowed each year on groups and persons who, working with the City Prosecutor’s Office, have made “a positive, significant impact in the City of Long Beach in the past year.”

“The prosecutors of my office are pleased to put a spotlight on those making a major difference in Long Beach,” said City Prosecutor Doug Haubert. “Long Beach is a great city because of the work of these super stars. They should be recognized for their extra-ordinary efforts.”

Those selected to receive City Prosecutor IMPACT awards this year include:

1) Long Beach Police Detective Ricardo Solorio, who will be given the Kim Maddox Impact Award for his investigation of gang-related crime in Long Beach. This is the second year an Impact Award named for former Long Beach Police Officer Kim Maddox will be awarded.

2) The LA County Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (L.E.A.D.) Team, for providing coordinated social services to drug-addicted persons as part of a pilot program funded by the California Board of State and Community Corrections, including, from the Los Angeles County Office of Diversion & Reentry Director Peter Espinoza and Program Director Shoshanna Scholar; from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Lt. Joseph Nicassio, Deputy Eugene Gaines and Deputy Julius Supapyotin; Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Edwin Wakabayashi; from the Homeless Outreach Program Integrated Care System (HOPICS) Gloria Johnson, Sheila Barnes, Juan Ontiveros and Kevin Lasley; from LA County Health Department, Housing for Health Program Manager Mark Faucette; and from the Long Beach Police Department Lt. Donald Mauk, Sgt. Brian Tuliau, Juan Gomez, Ernie Armond, Luis Rodriguez, Joseph Pueliu and Christopher Zamora.

3) Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn for her support of City of Long Beach rehabilitation programs designed to assist former gang members with employment and tattoo removal.

3) Antonio Gilbreath and Sylvester (Duke) Givens, both filmmakers and photographers from Long Beach, for their inspired work documenting and describing the City Prosecutor’s community-based programs.

4) Los Angeles County Deputy Probation Officer Valerie Kane, PhD., for her dedication to collaborating with prosecutors to protect the public while rehabilitating those convicted of crimes.

5) Long Beach Police Detective David Whelan and Police Officer Aaron Dodson, for their investigation of a 2017 commercial trucking enforcement case resulting in one of the largest criminal settlements in Long Beach history – $333,000 in fines and payments.

IMPACT awards will be presented at a reception next week. Awardees are chosen by prosecutors and staff in the City Prosecutor’s Office based on efforts made by persons during the preceding year. Any person wishing more information about IMPACT Awards may contact Sherri Seldon, chief of staff for the City Prosecutor’s Office, at (562) 570-5621.

City Launches Justice Lab

The City of Long Beach launched a first-of-its kind Justice Lab to provide new tools to first responders to divert residents in need out of the criminal justice system and toward much-needed resources like treatment and care.

The Justice Lab was developed through a partnership between the city’s Innovation Team, or “i-team,” and the Long Beach Public Safety Continuum. The continuum consists of police, fire, health and development services departments; the city prosecutor’s office; neighborhood associations; nonprofits; and residents who work collaboratively to make Long Beach a better and safer place.

After analyzing over 100,000 offenses in Long Beach during a five-year period, the i-team determined that 85 percent of repeat offenses are not serious crimes, but rather low-level misdemeanors. First responders like police officers and firefighters until now have had few tools to help individuals in need, who often wind up in a deepening cycle of arrest and incarceration.

The Justice Lab has eight initiatives designed to help break the cycle of incarceration, including:

• Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT), which will convene city and county service providers to better coordinate and reduce the burden on individuals accessing and navigating services such as mental health, substance abuse and homeless services.
• Clinician in Jail, a partnership between the police department and The Guidance Center, which will provide a mental health professional in the jail who will assess, connect and divert individuals to care.
• Long Beach GUIDES (Government User Integrated Diversion Enhancement System), led by City Prosecutor Doug Haubert, which will equip first responders with needed information to quickly identify what services are most appropriate for residents in need.
• Data Sharing Agreement, which is a set of established policies and procedures regarding data-sharing among the city’s departments. The agreement will enable city-based providers to access needed information to better serve residents who frequently interact with the justice system.
• Data Warehouse, part of the city’s Data Driven Justice Initiative (DDJ), which will bring multiple data-sets together to cross-check information about police, health, fire, city prosecutor’s office and other departments to help coordinate much-needed wraparound services for residents.
• CSULB Rising Scholars Education Lab, an innovative program launched by formally incarcerated students who believe that higher education is key to successfully diverting individuals out of the criminal justice system and toward a better path. The Education Lab will better empower individuals to navigate higher education through peer support.

The public will be informed on the roll-out and progress of the initiatives throughout 2018. Stay informed about the Justice Lab by visiting www.longbeach.gov/iteam.

LBSU Application Record

Applications by new students for admission at Long Beach State University for the upcoming fall 2018 term again reached an all-time high. The campus received more than 102,000 total undergraduate applications.

The numbers include more than 69,000 applications from first-time freshmen and more than 33,000 from transfer students. In addition, more than 5,400 prospective graduate and credential students have applied to date. The total applications were the most received by any of the California State University campuses, and the number of transfer applications is projected to be the top among all U.S. colleges and universities.

These 102,000-plus undergraduate applicants are competing for approximately 8,500 available seats. While efforts to improve graduation rates have resulted in more opportunities for new students to attend the university, its ability to meet the demands of the tens of thousands of qualified applicants seeking a high-quality education is constrained by limited state support.

An initiative to improve college-going rates of students in the region is the Long Beach College Promise partnership. Applications submitted by Promise students seeking to transfer from partner institution Long Beach City College have increased over the last four years. More than 800 Long Beach Unified School District graduates enrolled as freshmen at Long Beach State University last year, up 56 percent since the start of the Long Beach Promise Initiative nearly 10 years ago.

Knight Leaves PRD Position

Parks, Recreation and Marine Director Marie Knight has been offered a position with the City of Huntington Beach as the director of community services. The Huntington Beach City Council will meet on Feb. 5 to formally offer the job.

During her time with the city, Knight has made a positive impact on the department and community, overseeing the completion and openings of over a dozen key park projects including: Gumbiner Park, Downtown Fitness Loop, Seaside Park soccer field, El Dorado Park Nature Center improvements and many more.

Knight’s last day with the city will be Feb. 23. In early February, the city manager will announce the interim replacement and the process for selecting the next director of parks, recreation and marine.

Gray Panthers Elects Board

The Long Beach Gray Panthers held elections for the upcoming year. The new Board of Directors members are:

Myron Wollin, president; Bill Sive, vice president; Mary Alice Sedillo, treasurer; Karen Reside, secretary; John Kindred, outreach director. The new board took office on Dec. 1. The Long Beach Gray Panthers were founded in the early 1970s and are focused on senior issues although the organization invites supporters of all ages to participate.

The Long Beach Gray Panthers have also adopted a strategic issues platform for 2018:

Increase affordable housing for everyone by working on the Rent Control Initiative for Long Beach and the repeal of Costa-Hawkins

Establish a universal single payer healthcare plan by supporting passage of SB562

Fight for the preservation and expansion of Social Security and Medicare

Increase membership and develop seniors as community leaders

General Meetings of the Long Beach Gray Panthers are the first Saturday of the month at 10:30 a.m. at the 4th Street Senior Center at 1150 E. 4th St., Room 210. Meetings feature a speaker, lively discussion and information on issues impacting older adults in the community. The next meeting is Feb. 3.

For additional information, call (562) 336-7340 or email Longbeachgraypanthers@gmail.com.

Hospital Foundation’s 2018 Board of Directors

Community Hospital Long Beach Foundation (CHLBF) announced the new board of directors for 2018. Ray Burton, Professor emeritus (retired) at Long Beach City College is the new chair of the 20-member board of directors. Burton previously was a member of the CHLB foundation board and executive committee from 2015-2018.

Serving with Burton on the ten-member executive committee are: Vice Chair Dennis McConkey, Jalate, Inc.; Treasurer Andrew Barber, Crisell & Assoc.; Secretary Kit Katz, St. Mary Medical Center. At-large executive board members are: Andrea Caballero, Catalyst for Payment Reform; Mary Lockington, Esq., attorney-at-law; Jan Miller, Convention & Visitors Bureau; Suzanne Nosworthy, community leader; Ross Riddle, South Coast Shingle Co, Inc. and Matthew Faulkner, CHLB Foundation Executive Director.

Community Hospital Long Beach Foundation seeks and provides financial support that will sustain emergency and critical care services as well as ensure the best possible patient care and healthcare programs for Community Hospital Long Beach and our community. The foundation board ensures that all funds are managed prudently and dispersed in keeping with the wishes of its donors.

LAMC Receives Certification

Los Alamitos Medical Center recently underwent a rigorous two-day survey to earn the prestigious Comprehensive Stroke Center designation. The intense survey is part of the Comprehensive Stroke Center Certification Program conducted by DNV GL, a global quality management organization. The Comprehensive Stroke Center designation means that Los Alamitos Medical Center has some of the most advanced stroke treatments available in the greater Long Beach/Northern Orange County area.

The DNV GL stroke program includes portions of their hospital accreditation standards and requirements from the Guidelines of the Brain Attack Coalition and the American Stroke Association. According to the DNV GL website, “the emphasis these programs place on deploying a disciplined management system, combined with the relevant clinical best practices, sets DNV GL stroke certifications apart from other programs.”

Los Alamitos Medical Center’s Neurosciences and Cardiovascular Services Director Renee Mazeroll, R.N., MSN, CFACCA, lead the hospital’s efforts to enhance their stroke program – growing it into a Joint Commission Primary Stroke Center. Mazeroll also secured both the American Heart Association and American Stroke Associations “gold plus” designations for heart failure and stroke. She then began her quest to achieve DNV accreditation as a Comprehensive Stroke Center.