LA Public Health

According to the Gun Violence Archive, more than 17,000 people have died so far this year in the U.S. from guns, including more than 100 children under the age of 12. June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, which was created to draw attention to this tragic reality and to help fuel demand life-saving change. Andrea Welsing, Director of the Office of Violence Prevention in the LA County Department of Public Health, joins the podcast to share about gun violence in LA County and how people can get involved to become part of the solution.

Links discussed during the show:

• DPH's Office of Violence Prevention homepage
• OVP's Gun Violence Prevention Platform
• Storytelling Project: Violence, Hope, and Healing in LA County
• Need help? Here is a list of crisis hotlines

Coping with stress and need some help? The Department of Mental Health has online resources.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

Hands-Only CPR carried out by a bystander has been shown to be as effective as CPR with breaths in the first few minutes during an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest for an adult victim, and learning hands-only CPR increases the chances of a bystander taking action in a cardiac emergency. In this episode, Steve is joined by Stella Fogleman, Director of the Emergency Preparedness Response Division in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, to discuss this easy-to-learn and potentially life-saving technique.

Links discussed during the show:

• DPH Heart Heroes
• Heart Heroes fact sheet

Coping with stress and need some help? The Department of Mental Health has online resources.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

In June of 2022, the Food and Drug Administration approved COVID-19 vaccines for young children age 6 months to 5 years old. Yet only 12% of children age 6 months to 4 years have received one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Disparities exist among children of color, with only 6% of Black children and 5% of Latino children in LA County receiving at least one dose, compared to 22% of Asian children, 19% of White children, and 15% of American Indian and Alaska Native children. Dr. Nava Yeganeh, Medical Director of Vaccine Preventable Disease Control in the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, joins to discuss vaccine safety and how families can access COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for their children.

Links discussed during the show:

• www.VaccinateLACounty.com
• LA Public Health Vaccine Call Center: (833) 540-0473
• LA Public Health's Homebound Vaccination Program

Coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

Older adults are at increased risk for severe illness or even death from COVID-19, and risk increases with age.  In this episode, Steve is joined by Dr. Chandana Das, Lead Physician with the Healthcare Outreach Unit in the Department of Public Health and Dr. Pingting Nie, who is the Associate Chief of the Healthcare Outreach Unit in the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program in the Los Angeles Department of Public Health.

Links discussed during the show:

• Find out where to get a COVID vaccine in Los Angeles County
• In-home vaccinations are available through this online form.

Coping with stress? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

This holiday season we are seeing high rates of influenza – the flu – as well as RSV and COVID-19.  In this episode we are joined by Dr. Prabhu Gounder, Medical Director of the Respiratory Diseases Unit in the Communicable Diseases Control Program and Elizabeth Traub, Viral Respiratory Diseases Epidemiologist, who share about the flu season, flu shots, and how to best keep our families and ourselves healthy. 

Links discussed during the show:

• Find out where to go to get a flu shot in LA County 
• Acute Communicable Disease Control (ACDC) Homepage
• ACDC Flu Information 
• LA County Influenza Surveillance Reports

Coping with stress? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

In this episode Steve is joined by Dr. Gary Tsai, Director or the Division of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and Ed Ternan, who together with his wife Mary founded Song for Charlie, a national family-run nonprofit charity dedicated to raising awareness about “fentapills” - fake pills made of fentanyl.

Links discussed during the show:

• Get help online at www.recoverla.org 
• Find treatment services now by calling (844) 804-7500
• Visit Song for Charlie at www.songforcharlie.org
• Connect with others who have lost a loved one to overdose at www.grasphelp.org 

Coping with stress? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

In this episode we are joined by Matt Ford, who shares his experience with monkeypox, and Dr. Leo Moore, Medical Director for Clinic Services in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, who shares his expertise on what monkeypox is and how we can protect ourselves and others from infection.

Links discussed during the show:

• LA Public Health's Monkeypox Homepage
• LA Public Health's online vaccine sign-up
• If you can't sign up online, call (833) 540-0473
• Monkeypox signage and resources

Coping with stress? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

Therapeutics to help treat COVID-19 are now available and Dr. Seira Kurian, Area Health Officer in Service Planning Area 1-2 and LA County DPH's lead for therapeutics with the COVID response team, joins to share what medications are available, how they work, and how to access them.

Links discussed during the show:

• LA Public Health Vaccine Call Center: (833) 540-0473
• LA Public Health COVID medication information page
• Homebound vaccination program online request form
• In-home vaccination web page in English and Spanish
• www.VaccinateLACounty.com

Coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

Last week the Food and Drug Administration approved COVID-19 vaccines for young children age 6 months to 5 years old.  Our team reached out via social media to collect your questions and in this episode we get answers from Dr. Nava Yeganeh, Medical Director of Vaccine Preventable Disease Control in the Acute Communicable Disease Control Program in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

Links discussed during the show:

• www.VaccinateLACounty.com
• LA Public Health’s Vaccine Service Locator
• LA Public Health Vaccine Call Center: (833) 540-0473
• LA Public Health’s how to get vaccinated page
• Home visiting programs: https://edirectory.homevisitingla.org/
• Homebound vaccination program online request form
• In-home vaccination web page in English and Spanish

Coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.

Since 2016 the department’s Office of Violence Prevention has championed the Trauma Prevention initiative, investing in community-led public safety by hiring local peacemakers, building meaningful partnerships with community and creating safe spaces to help communities heal and thrive. In this episode we focus on the critical importance of partnerships in public health work as we are joined by LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Holly Mitchell, Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Parks and Recreation Department Director Norma E. Garcia, community organizer Kevin Orange, and Office of Violence Prevention Director Andrea Welsing.

Coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic? The Department of Mental Health has online resources to help.

Follow our department across all social media platforms @lapublichealth.