Category Archives: Health

County will help children’s group craft ballot measure – The Reporter

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By Todd R. Hansen

The Board of Supervisors faced a full room of advocates imploring that it was time to invest in Solano’s children.

“Is there any reason you won’t support us?” the board was asked by four children in a rehearsed plea to support a ballot measure that, as proposed, would raise the sales tax 25 cents over the next 10 years.

Suisun City Vice Mayor Lori Wilson said the kind of services that the measure would support gave her hope and a chance at a productive life. In an emotional testimonial, she described a childhood of homelessness and abuse.

Source: County will help children’s group craft ballot measure

Relay for Life marches for cure, hope – The Reporter

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By Dom Pruett

The weather was sweltering, which made the walking that much more challenging.

But for the hundreds who braved the heat Saturday during the Relay for Life at Vaca Pena Middle School, the inconvenient conditions paled in comparison to the pain caused by cancer.

“You can’t take a break from cancer,” said Vacaville resident Catina Wolett, who gladly revealed she’s now five years cancer free.

“It’s amazing to see everyone here still pushing. Not afraid.”

Source: Relay for Life marches for cure, hope

Local teens explore nursing profession at NorthBay camp – The Reporter

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By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Chelsea Cagle literally got a leg up.

The Will C. Wood High School student is one of 32 teens participating in the 12th annual NorthBay Nurse Camp through Friday.

Cagle and her fellow student nurses were in the VacaValley Hospital emergency room Wednesday morning.

Source: Local teens explore nursing profession at NorthBay camp

School’s out but lunch is in and looking fresher – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

School’s out for the summer, but a free, nutritious lunch for kids, always popular, is still in at several places across Vacaville.

Vacaville Unified’s summer feeding program began earlier this week, with lunchtime meals available Monday through Friday for children at three sites, with a fourth one, due to popular demand and an expressed need, added today, said Juan Cordon, the school district’s new director of child nutrition.

They are Markham Elementary, 11:30 a.m. to noon; Public Library-Town Square, 1 Town Square Place, where food is delivered, noon to 12:30 p.m.; and Fairmont Charter Elementary, 1355 Marshall Road, 12:30 to 1 p.m.; and, newly added, the Vacaville Boys & Girls Club, 100 Holly Lane, also where food is delivered, 1 to 1:30 p.m.

via: Schools out but lunch is in – The Reporter

Benicia Middle School to hold blood drive honoring two BUSD cancer patients – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

Benicia Middle School will be partnering with the American Red Cross to host a blood drive Saturday for two children who have battled cancer in the past year, one a BMS student and the other the son of one of its administrators.

In September 2015, Sage Nelson, a second-grader at Matthew Turner Elementary, was diagnosed with Burkitt’s lymphoma, an aggressive B-cell lymphoma which was discovered on Sage’s tonsil. Sage’s mother Maya is a vice principal at BMS, and his father Cliff is an English teacher at Liberty High School.

Shortly thereafter, 14-year-old Ruby Goshert was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, an extremely rare form of cancer that has had fewer than 1,000 cases per year and mainly attacks bones and soft tissue.

Maya says her son finished his immune treatments in November and mostly does monthly checkups now.“His immune system is almost back to normal,” she said.

Source: Benicia Middle School to hold blood drive honoring two BUSD cancer patients

Non-vaccinated students welcome in VUSD’s Independent Study program – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

As enrollment for area school districts gets underway, Vacaville Unified is among those offering a learning option for nonvaccinated students, the home-based Independent Study program.

In response to SB 277, which took effect Jan. 1 and disallows personal and religious belief exemptions for some 10 vaccinations, Superintendent Jane Shamieh said that, as a result of the law, some families may no longer have a school to send their children to. The law affects all California public and private schools and day care centers. In a prepared statement, Shamieh noted this major change for the 12,300-student district, which has accepted exemptions for students in the past.

“We hope that parents understand that the law now prohibits all California schools from accepting vaccination exemptions,” she said in a press release issued some weeks ago. “Our hope is that students stay engaged in learning at school sites,” with IS, as it’s called for short, another choice for families that do not want to vaccinate.

via: Non-vaccinated students welcome in VUSD’s Independent Study program – The Reporter

School nurses: Just what the doctor ordered – Daily Republic

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By Amy Maginnis-Honey

The pace can be hectic, the demands varied and there’s the fact school nurses often see youth in need of care.

That’s fine with Kathy Boyajian. After staying home while raising her children, who are now adults, she went to school and became a nurse to help others.

Boyajian has been with the Fairfield-Suisun School District about six and a half years. She worked as an emergency room nurse prior.

Working every other weekend and every other holiday, in addition to the night shift, was the impetus behind making the jump.

Source: School nurses: Just what the doctor ordered

VUSD offers Independent Study for nonvaccinated students – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

As enrollment for area school districts gets underway, Vacaville Unified is among those offering a learning option for nonvaccinated students, the home-based Independent Study program.

In response to SB 277, which took effect Jan. 1 and disallows personal and religious belief exemptions for some 10 vaccinations, Superintendent Jane Shamieh said that, as a result of the law, some families may no longer have a school to send their children to. The law affects all California public and private schools and daycare centers.

In a prepared statement, Shamieh noted this major change for the 12,300-student district, which has accepted exemptions for students in the past.

Source: VUSD offers Independent Study for nonvaccinated students

Sex ed that supports new state law goes before FSUSD board – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Sex education starting in the seventh grade with instruction that includes affirmatively recognizing people have different sexual orientations and discussing same-sex relationships is among 18 board polices that go before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees when they meet Thursday.

Instruction about the harm of negative gender stereotypes is also part of the California Healthy Youth Act that the school district’s curriculum would support.

The Fairfield-Suisun School District board policy includes notifying parents that they can request in writing that their child be excused from participating in sexual health and HIV prevention education.

Source: Sex ed that supports new state law goes before Fairfield-Susiun board

VUSD to offer Independent Study for nonvaccinated students – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

As enrollment for area school districts gets underway, Vacaville Unified is among those offering a learning option for nonvaccinated students, the home-based Independent Study program.

In response to SB 277, which took effect Jan. 1 and disallows personal and religious belief exemptions for some 10 vaccinations, Superintendent Jane Shamieh said that, as a result of the law, some families may no longer have a school to send their children to. The law affects all California public and private schools and daycare centers.

In a prepared statement, Shamieh noted this major change for the 12,300-student district, which has accepted exemptions for students in the past.

Source: VUSD to offer Independent Study for nonvaccinated students

Vacaville schools provide learning options for children not vaccinated – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

School officials in Vacaville are making plans for families who have unvaccinated children to continue their children’s education.

The changes prompted by Senate Bill 277 will take effect July 1, which means that children without current vaccinations will no longer be able to attend California schools or day care centers.

The Vacaville School District’s Independent Study Program is an alternative offered for children in the area. The district recently created a school principal position for the Independent Study Program and appointed Manolo Garcia as principal, according to a school district press release.

Source: Vacaville schools provide learning options for children not vaccinated

Underage drinking awareness town hall meeting at Vanden tonight – The Reporter

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Vanden High School Friday Night Live (FNL) is hosting a Town Hall meeting Wednesday at 6 p.m., 2951 Markley Lane, Fairfield, in the school’s Little Theater.

The meeting is free and open to all parents, youth, educators, and community members interested in learning more about underage drinking and driving among teens and youth drivers. The California Highway Patrol will present the Impact Teen Drivers program to discuss the dangers of drinking and driving along with the local statistics of driving deaths related to alcohol. Attendees will have the chance to ask questions and hold important conversations about this topic after the presentation.

Vanden FNL believes that no teen should waste their life getting wasted. They want to enlighten the community about the dangers of drinking and driving while getting parents more involved in making safe driving choices with their teens, especially at a time of year where celebrations, such as prom and graduation, will be happening.

via: Underage drinking awareness

VUSD to offer Independent Study option for nonvaccinated students – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

As enrollment for area school districts gets underway, Vacaville Unified is among those offering a learning option for nonvaccinated students, the home-based Independent Study program.

In response to SB 277, which took effect Jan. 1 and disallows personal and religious belief exemptions for some 10 vaccinations, Superintendent Jane Shamieh said that, as a result of the law, some families may no longer have a school to send their children to. The law affects all California public and private schools and daycare centers.

In a prepared statement, Shamieh noted this major change for the 12,300-student district, which has accepted exemptions for students in the past.

Source: VUSD to offer Independent Study option for nonvaccinated students

Feeding the Teachers Brain: Nutrition Tips for Busy Educators | Edutopia

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By Dr. Donna Wilson and Marcus Conyers

Teaching is a cognitively complex profession. In the course of a single school day, an educator must make hundreds of decisions and respond quickly to the myriad unexpected turns that life in the classroom may take. You have a high-energy job, so its essential to prime your brain and body with the right fuel.

But in the busy life of a teacher, who has time to think about healthy eating, much less sorting through the sometimes-conflicting claims about the nutritional value of various food choices? Unfortunately, the less we think about what we eat, the worse our diets may be — especially if we default to snacking on so-called convenience foods that are high in sugar and saturated fats and low in nutrient-dense ingredients that sustain energy levels.

via Feeding the Teachers Brain: Nutrition Tips for Busy Educators | Edutopia.

Ed. Dept., HHS Offer Suggestions to Help Districts Pair Academics, Health Services – Education Week

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By Alyson Klein

Attention school district officials: Do you want to offer more health services to your students but arent sure where to start? The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services have some ideas.

The two agencies took a look at policies and programs that already seem to be getting results in some school districts, and they put out some guidance to help districts and health care agencies collaborate more. You can read the letter here.

Whats more, the Education Department and HHS released a tool kit offering five ideas to help districts integrate more health services into schools. They have five suggestions, plus some practical advice for implementation, and links to resources, complete with at least one real-life example.

via Ed. Dept., HHS Offer Suggestions to Help Districts Pair Academics, Health Services – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Some districts exempt students in special ed from vaccination law | EdSource

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By Jane Meredith Adams

California now has one of the strictest vaccination laws in the country, but ambiguity in its wording has left school districts deciding on their own whether to grant special education students a de facto exemption.

The California Department of Public Health and the California Department of Education have not yet issued guidance on how to apply the vaccination law to special education students. Under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, students who qualify for special education services, such as speech therapy or small group instruction, must receive those services. Failure to comply leaves districts vulnerable to lawsuits from parents.

At the same time, beginning July 1, the state law will require all kindergarten, transitional kindergarten and 7th-grade students to be vaccinated against 10 communicable diseases before they are allowed to attend school, unless they have a medical condition that makes them unable to do so. Under the new law, parents can no longer refuse to vaccinate their children in public or private schools and child care centers based on their personal beliefs.

via Some districts exempt students in special ed from vaccination law | EdSource.

Governor signs bill to help schools hire more school nurses – The Reporter

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By Reporter Staff

Last week Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed into law legislation by Senator Lois Wolk, D-Davis, to help schools take a lead role in managing chronic childhood diseases and hire more school nurses.

“One of the leading causes of absenteeism in our schools is chronic illness,” Wolk said. “Increasing the number of nurses in our schools will positively affect attendance, graduation rates, and academic performance, particularly in California’s most needy school districts.”

Senate Bill 276, signed last Thursday, allows school districts, County Offices of Educations, and other Local Education Agency Medi-Cal providers (LEAs) to receive reimbursement for services provided to all Medi-Cal eligible students. LEAs currently cannot bill Medi-Cal for health services provided to special education students if those services are also provided to regular education students.

via Governor signs bill to help schools hire more school nurses.

California Governor Signs Health for All Kids Bill – New America Media

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By Viji Sundaram

In May 2016, California will become the fifth state to allow undocumented children from low-income families to enroll in comprehensive health care.

Gov. Brown signed legislation Friday that will allow 170,000 undocumented children to smoothly transition from restricted scope Emergency Medi-Cal (the state’s name for Medicaid) to full-scope coverage, by removing barriers to re-applying or re-enrolling. It will also let children with severe and chronic illnesses stay in specialty care.

Once undocumented children enroll in comprehensive Medi-Cal, they will be able to take advantage of preventive services and not have to wait until a medical emergency to seek care.

via California Governor Signs Health for All Kids Bill – New America Media.

School Food Workers Need More Training, Resources, Survey Finds – Education Week

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By Evie Blad

School food workers say they need more training and resources to keep up with changes made in the wake of new nutrition standards created under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

In a recent survey by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 58 percent of 3,372 total respondents said cooks and front-line servers needed training on basic cooking skills, and 68 percent said nutrition directors needed training in developing or modifying menus to meet the new standards.

“To run successful programs and meet updated nutrition standards, most school districts expected to make at least one change in their production approach, like cooking more meals from scratch or implementing recipe changes to ensure appropriate and consistent nutrient content,” the report says.

The nationally representative survey was administered during the 2012-13 school year. Thats before the U.S. Department of Agriculture set training and professional development standards for school food workers. Those standards set minimum training and education levels for food personnel that vary by district size.

via School Food Workers Need More Training, Resources, Survey Finds – Rules for Engagement – Education Week.

What Vaccines Your Child Needs to Start School | Benicia, CA Patch

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By Alexander Nguyen

As the school year starts, public health officials are reminding parents to get their children vaccinated before starting school.

Under California law, children must be vaccinated against a host of diseases, such as polio and chicken pox, before starting school. The requirement differs depending on the age and grade of the child.

August is National Vaccination Month, and public health officials are using that to remind people about the importance of vaccination.

via What Vaccines Your Child Needs to Start School | Benicia, CA Patch.