This week on Valley Edition we talk about access to mental health care in Fresno County. We also hear about a new study that has bad news for Valley residents, as the Valley is actually experiencing setbacks in a number of key health indicators. And we close the program with an interview about an event called heART beat that aims to help support music programs in the schools.
Valley Edition for May 8, 2012:
Segment 1: Mental Health
For those suffering with a mental illness, getting access to health care in Fresno County can be challenging, especially for children. The county recently moved to reopen a crisis center for mentally ill patients, in an effort to keep them out of local hospital emergency rooms. But the county still lacks a psychiatric hospital to serve children and adolescents. On the next Valley Edition, we'll talk with Fresno County Supervisor Henry Perea and Fresno Bee reporter Barbara Anderson about the challenges local families are facing, and what the county can do to help improve the situation. We're also joined by Mary Lou Braunti-Minkler, of the group NAMI Fresno, a local organization dedicated to providing support to those diagnosed with a mental illness and to their families.
Segment 2: Valley health setbacks
Despite advances in technology and spending, residents of the eight Central Valley counties showed little to no improvement in key health indicators over the last decade. In fact, in some cases, the region experienced setbacks, instead of progress. The news comes from a new report released this week by the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State and the Fresno County Department of Public Health, called "Healthy People 2010 – A 2010 Profile of Health Status in the San Joaquin Valley." The report follows national objectives established in 2000 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, on issues from physical activity and tobacco use to air quality and obesity. us to discuss what this report means for the Valley are guests Dr. John Capitman, executive director for the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University, Fresno, and Dr. Edward Moreno, Director and Health Officer for the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
Segment 3: heART Beat
With the constant threat of budget cuts to education, arts programs in local schools are continually in jeopardy. This year, the Fresno County Office of Education Foundation is hosting a special fundraiser called heART Beat, featuring the live music and performance paintings of percussionist David Garibaldi, May 12th at the Downtown Club in Fresno. Guest Bob Bullwinkel, Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator for the Fresno County Office of Education joins us to talk about this event and the importance of arts programs in local schools.
Special funding for this program comes from the California HealthCare Foundation
http://www.chcf.org/
