Ernest Perry, Jr., PMP, SPHR

FUNDING MATTERS: IPS Awarded $400,000 from California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to Improve Health Outcomes in Latine Communities https://lnkd.in/gPTD2Nc7

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At Sierra Health Foundation, we believe California’s local economies should be shaped by the people who live in them. Through the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative (CEMI), we’re helping nonprofits and Tribal organizations tap into public investments and lead equitable development rooted in community voice. We’re proud to support partners like 4th Second, led by Executive Director Richard Fisher, who are building inclusive, safe and thriving local economies. 4th Second's vision of a community-driven economy reflects the heart of CEMI’s mission: investing in leaders, strengthening capacity and mobilizing grassroots power. This work is more than a funding initiative—it’s a movement to ensure every community has the tools and voice to shape its economic future. #CEMI #CommunityDevelopment #EconomicEquity #CaliforniaLeadership #InclusiveGrowth

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🚨 Urgent: Community-Led Public Health Programs Are at Risk in San Francisco The San Francisco Department of Public Health has announced major FY 2026–27 budget cuts to community-based workforce development and capacity-building programs. While these cuts are being framed as “non-public health” reductions, they directly undermine public health by dismantling the community-led pipelines that make equitable care possible — particularly for trans, queer, intersex, and BIPOC communities. For Lyon-Martin Community Health Services, this includes a $128,000/year cut to our QTI BIPOC Healthcare Fellowship, made mid-contract within a 10-year City-funded agreement. This puts the future of a proven, community-rooted public health program at risk. The QTI BIPOC Healthcare Fellowship is the current iteration of the Western Addition Health Training (WAHT) program, an employment development initiative originally stewarded by Women’s Community Clinic (WCC). WAHT provided mentorship, training, and education for Black women of the African diaspora pursuing careers in healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health education, facilitation, supervision, and direct clinical experience. Lyon-Martin now stewards this legacy through the QTI BIPOC Healthcare Fellowship. This program is foundational to Lyon-Martin’s by us, for us model of care, and its proven to work. 📊 80% of fellows from Lyon-Martin’s QTI BIPOC Healthcare Fellowship have gone on to further education or employment in healthcare, with three hired directly into permanent roles at Lyon-Martin. This is not “extra” — it is core public health infrastructure. These cuts also come on the heels of a cancellation of over $250,000/year in funding supporting Lyon-Martin’s Outreach and Harm Reduction program, which provided lifesaving, street-based services to sex workers. In total, $400,000/year in funding has now been cut from programs devoted to community health education, workforce access, and care for people most impacted by systemic exclusion. 📣 Take Action: Submit Public Comment ➡️ Speak at the Health Commission meeting on February 2, 2026, 4:30pm at SF City Hall, Room 408 (3-minute limit). ➡️ Submit written public comment by February 4, 2026 to dphbudgetideas@sfdph.org ➡️ Suggested language you may copy and personalize in comments While we advocate for restoration of public funding, we are also mobilizing to raise bridge funding so this historic program has a chance to survive into 2026. Your support helps ensure: 🔥 Paid training opportunities for QTI BIPOC fellows 🔥 Professional mentorship and career pathways in healthcare 🔥 Continued delivery of culturally congruent, community-rooted care 💫 Donate here: https://lnkd.in/gPg4Rthi or learn more about our services here: https://lnkd.in/gFBguvv6 If you believe public health must be built by and for community, please speak up, share, and stand with us.

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The California Health Care Foundation released a new blogpost where Carlina Hansen interviews Mayra E Alvarez, a longtime advocate for community health workers, explains why California needs Medi-Cal policies that offer sustainable support to this essential workforce. Read the full article here:https://lnkd.in/eVQeQDcB

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The cost of health care continues to increase. Efforts to increase access do not reduce the cost of care. How long can this be sustained? Healthcare leaders are sounding the alarm. We need to pay attention. As Occupational Health Nurses we are most often dealing with Work Comp insurance rather than the group health care insurance offered by the employer. But we are also very aware of the impact of non-work caused conditions or co-morbidities on the ability of a worker to safely perform their job or return to work after injury. Our education trains us to see the whole person. What role can Occupational Health Nurses play to address this looming threat? We need to pay attention. #occupationalhealthnurses #nurses #occupationalhealth #aaohn #osaohn #costofhealthcare

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The Rural Health Care Delivery Fund is opening a new funding cycle to help stabilize essential healthcare services in rural New Mexico. This $50 million investment will support operational costs for rural providers serving Medicaid patients and help maintain access to critical care in high-need communities. Application opens: March 16th Eligible applicants include providers that: • Serve rural high-need Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) • Are tribally operated healthcare facilities, or • Are New Mexico Medicaid-enrolled providers delivering Medicaid-reimbursable services Funding is designed to help rural healthcare organizations sustain operations and continue delivering essential services to the communities that rely on them. At Burrows Consulting, now part of VMG Health, we help healthcare organizations navigate funding opportunities like this so they can focus on what matters most: caring for patients and strengthening rural health systems.

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Molina Healthcare of California held a drive-thru food giveaway at the Moreno Valley Health & Wellness Center. Produce for 200 families was packed and distributed by Molina volunteers and the Moreno Valley Unified School District (MVUSD). The event aimed to address growing food insecurity in Riverside County (12%), which has increased 41% from just two years prior. The partners also celebrated Molina’s donation of a new gate at the center that aids MVUSD staff with safety, traffic flow and overall efficiency for food assistance events. In addition to the gate, Molina presented the MVUSD with a check for $10,000 in support of their efforts to address food insecurity. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/e5F2_BQ3 #MolinaHealthcareOfCalifornia #MolinaCA #MolinaCares #GivingBack #FoodForAll

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California’s health care system needs leaders who can navigate complexity, drive change, and advance equity across communities. Applications are open for Cohort 26 of the CHCF Health Care Leadership Program - a two-year fellowship designed to help clinicians grow as transformational leaders while continuing to serve in their organizations. Led by Healthforce Center at UCSF and funded by the California Health Care Foundation, the program brings together physicians, behavioral health providers, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, and other health professionals from across California to strengthen leadership, management, and systems-change skills. Since 2001, more than 700 clinician leaders have come through this program and gone back to their organizations ready to create meaningful, lasting change. We especially encourage applications from: 🔹 Clinicians working in safety-net organizations 🔹 Behavioral health professionals 🔹 Leaders from underrepresented and historically under-resourced regions 🔹 Black, Latino, and Indigenous clinicians Key details: 📍 Two-year, part-time fellowship 📍 Six in-person seminars across California 📍 Executive coaching and peer learning 📍 Application deadline: May 29, 2026 at 11:59 PM PST If you're a clinician who's ready to lead beyond the exam room, or know someone who is, this program is for you. 🔗 Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/gHvxdybt 🧾 Want to learn more about the program? Read the attached report that highlight's the program's enduring impact. Sunita Mutha, MD Sutep Laohavanich Vaishnavi Vaidya Melody Moua Rebecca Hargreaves #HealthCareLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #HealthEquity #BehavioralHealth #HealthWorkforce #CHCF #UCSF #HealthforceCenter

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Five Planned Parenthood clinics in Northern and Central California are closing, with the organization citing potential loss of Medicaid funding under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Read More: https://lnkd.in/gBXYvRiN

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​​In partnership with The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, our team conducted a landscape assessment to better understand how maternal health, child care, and financial support systems serve families with young children across Alameda, Fresno, and Monterey Counties. As part of this work, we spoke with parents, system leaders, and community partners to learn how families experience these systems every day. This collaborative approach helped create a clear, community-informed picture of where alignment across support systems can improve outcomes for families. Read the full parent interviews: https://lnkd.in/gHGJN5bE

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What Happened in Idaho’s Budget Committee and Why People Are Paying Attention In February 2026, a relatively small line item in Idaho’s state budget sparked a much larger conversation. The Joint Finance Appropriations Committee, known as JFAC, considered whether to restore funding for the State Education Assistance Program. This program helps members of the Idaho Army National Guard pay for college by supplementing federal tuition benefits. Earlier in the budget cycle, about 190,000 dollars in state funding for the program had been removed as part of broader spending adjustments. For many Guard members, this assistance helps bridge the gap between federal benefits and the actual cost of tuition. It is not a luxury benefit. For some service members, it is the difference between being able to enroll in classes or putting their education on hold. When the budget came back before the committee, lawmakers had the opportunity to restore that funding. The committee, which is majority Republican, did not vote to reinstate the money at that time. Instead, the budget was held in committee and the funding was not added back into that version of the proposal. Supporters of restoring the funds argued that the cost to the state is relatively small but the impact on Guard members is significant. They emphasized that education benefits are one of the strongest tools for recruiting and retaining service members. Many of these men and women juggle military responsibilities, civilian jobs, and family life. Access to affordable education can shape their long term career paths and financial stability. Lawmakers who did not support restoring the funds pointed to overall budget constraints and competing priorities. Some said they support the military wholeheartedly but felt the state must exercise fiscal discipline across all programs. Budget decisions often involve difficult trade offs, and this was presented as one of them. It is important to understand what this vote affected. The decision involved a state funded supplemental program. Federal tuition assistance and GI Bill benefits remain in place. The debate centered only on Idaho’s additional contribution. The reaction has been emotional on both sides. For some Idahoans, especially military families, the decision feels personal. It raises questions about promises made to those who serve. For others, the issue highlights the responsibility lawmakers carry to manage taxpayer dollars carefully, even when the programs involved are meaningful. In the end, this debate is about more than 190,000 dollars. It is about priorities, trust, and the expectations citizens place on those elected to serve. #Leadership #PublicService #Idaho #NationalGuard #Policy #Accountability

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As we close out #NationalPublicHealthWeek, we focus on "action."   In 2025, ChangeLab Solutions launched Accelerating Policy Change, a nationwide series of convenings designed to move community health from ideas to implementation.    In California, regional events in Fresno and Los Angeles brought together public health leaders, community-based organizations, government staff, and healthcare partners to focus on one question:  How do we turn policy into real-world impact?      What emerged was clear:  🔵Cross-sector collaboration leads to stronger, more actionable solutions  🔵Capacity building is essential for both communities and local governments  🔵Local context shapes what effective policy look like  🔵Partnerships are what move ideas into implementation    Participants didn’t just leave with ideas. They left with tools, strategy, and stronger connections to act.    This is what action looks like: systems aligning with community to drive policy change that improves health and opportunity.    Learn more about the power of local and state solutions: https://lnkd.in/gqsmCCqW

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Avela Health, a Carson, California–based digital health company, raised $10M in seed financing led by Rethink Education, part of Rethink Capital Partners. Founded in 2024, Avela Health delivers virtual autism diagnosis and ongoing support services for children, teens, and adults. Its care model includes remote diagnostic evaluations, an alternative to virtual applied behavior analysis (ABA), support groups, personalized treatment planning, and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for autistic adults. The company was founded by Robin Ann McIntosh (CEO), Katherine Monti MPH, MSW (President & COO), and clinical co-founder Cynthia Anderson (Chief Clinical Officer). 👇Track where life sciences capital is moving and what it signals for 2026 on BYTE51: https://www.byte51.com/ 📅 Schedule a demo: https://lnkd.in/gHdpTbDs #DigitalHealth #AutismCare #BehavioralHealth #MentalHealth #HealthcareInnovation #SeedRound

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Asian Health Services President Thu Quach joined Bay Area health leaders Alameda Health Consortium and the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley in Oakland to share the importance of getting health coverage during Covered California’s Open Enrollment period which ends January 31, 2026. “We know that health care coverage is the number one driver for whether someone seeks health care,” shared Quach. “It allows people to get preventive care and ongoing treatment which saves lives and saves the health care system money. Money that can be reinvested into improving our health care system.” Each year, AHS eligibility staff provide enrollment assistance in-language to thousands of Oakland residents. While Covered California provides clear options and enrollment support, AHS staff help enroll community members into these options. We are proud to have this partnership that ensures our community receives the care they need.

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Community-based programs prioritize cultural understanding and trust in providing expecting mothers the care they need. https://lnkd.in/gwhAXKqx - ✍️ Kat Harttrup University of Washington #doula #health

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Calling all community-based agencies! 💓 Public Health – Seattle & King County has a new funding opportunity for Communities of Opportunity evaluation mini-grants.   Communities of Opportunity (COO) invests in community power for structural change. COO partner activities range from awareness-raising and building collaborations within and across communities to developing and implementing processes and policies that support improved health, housing, economic opportunities and community connection. Evaluating the outcomes or impact of some of these activities may call for more focused evaluation or additional evaluation activities that complement existing evaluation. These mini grants are intended to support COO partners' efforts to evaluate the success and impacts of their work. These grants aim to support short-term, discrete evaluation projects that contribute to understanding COO's outcomes and impacts.   Learn more and apply at: kingcounty.gov/funding/COO

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Sutter Health is preparing for a future where most of its care is delivered outside the walls of its hospitals. The California-based health system, like many of its peers, is also looking to reduce burden on its clinicians. I caught up with Laura Wilt, Sutter's chief digital officer, at HLTH, and we talked about some of her AI priorities, including ambient listening, reducing documentation burden on clinicians, better workflows around how data is collected, improving two-way communication with insurers, and allowing clinicians to remotely manage patients with chronic conditions. Check out our conversation below and let me know your thoughts. #healthcareonLinkedIn #BigIdeas2026

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Kaiser Permanente Northwest is proud to support equitable access to health care careers. As a senior Community Health consultant, Shean Ipanto represented Kaiser Permanente Northwest at Portland State University’s Ignite convening — joining educators, community partners, health leaders, and students to strengthen pathways into Oregon’s future health care workforce. Through this collaboration, we reinforced our commitment to: ✨ Investing in students’ academic success ✨ Expanding equitable access to education and career readiness ✨ Supporting the development of a diverse and thriving health care workforce These efforts are essential to increasing economic opportunity and improving the long‑term health of the communities we serve. Together, we’re helping build the next generation of talented health care professionals in Oregon.

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