Hospice announces $50,000 grant
Hospice of Santa Cruz County has received a $50,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente Northern California Community Benefits Programs. The grant will help people living with serious illness get access to the resources they need.
The funds will be used by Hospice of Santa Cruz County to support the Telehealth Expansion Project for Palliative Care patients in the Santa Cruz region. This project will increase access to care through technology that will quickly and more efficiently connect patients with care they need.
Home-based palliative care services are available for people experiencing serious life-limiting illness, who are not eligible for hospice care either because they have a prognosis greater than six months or they are still interested in receiving curative treatments.
“We believe it’s vital to explore and strategically implement innovative technologies that will expand access to the exemplary care we provide our patients,” said Hospice of Santa Cruz County CEO Michael Milward.
The Hospice of Santa Cruz County Telehealth Program will help professionals deliver, “comprehensive, coordinated, patient-centered palliative care,” the organization stated in a press release.
It will also engage patients to manage their own health to reduce preventable illness, and avoidable trips to the emergency room, the press release stated.
“Kaiser Permanente supports the use of telehealth as an innovative way to expand access to health care,” said Irene Chavez, Senior Vice President and Area Manager of KP San Jose and the Santa Cruz County Area.
The grant, coupled with a recent grant from the Central California Alliance for Health, provides Hospice of Santa Cruz County additional funding necessary to expand access to the new telehealth system for palliative care services.
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CHP receives grant to curtail speeding, street racing
SACRAMENTO—Speed and aggressive driving continue to be a major cause of death and injury on California roadways. With federal funding, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) is embarking on an endeavor to reduce crashes caused by speed and aggressive driving.
The CHP received a $1.5 million grant for the Regulate Aggressive Driving and Reduce Speed (RADARS) IV program. The goal of RADARS IV is to reduce the number of fatal and injury traffic collisions attributed to speed and the number of people killed and injured in those collisions. The CHP will increase enforcement and add public awareness campaigns statewide, focusing on speed-related causes of crashes. Additionally, RADARS IV will focus on street racing and sideshow activities, which are a growing problem statewide.
“Speeding not only endangers the life of the speeder, but everyone on the road around them,” CHP Commissioner Warren Stanley said. “The RADARS IV grant enables our officers to improve highway safety and help prevent dangerous driving and deadly crashes.”
In Federal Fiscal Year 2016, speed was a factor in approximately 45 percent of all fatal and injury collisions in California. That year, 36,297 speed-related crashes resulted in the death of more than 370 people and injury to nearly 53,000 others.
Funding for this program was provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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Runners gear up for race to benefit Aromas School
Graniterock’s annual Rock N Run 5k/10k race is set for 8 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 13 at the company’s quarry in Aromas.
All proceeds raised from the $25 entrance fee will be donated to Aromas School.
The school received $20,000 from last year’s Rock N Run.
Runners/walkers can register on site or online at bit.ly/2VxyHzF
Tours of the aggregate quarry follow the race and are open to the public.
Visit www.graniterock.com for more information.
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Adult Ed offering free college planning class
Watsonville/Aptos/Santa Cruz Adult Education is offering a free two-evening class on college planning at the Pajaro Valley Unified School District office.
First session is Oct. 17 and second session runs on Oct. 24.
Topics include: what colleges are looking for, choosing colleges that fit, tips on writing the essay, financial aid 101 and tips for paying less for college.
For more info or to register: waae-pajaro-ca.schoolloop.com.
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Greene named American Legion 121 Commander
Margaret Greene was recently named Commander at Watsonville’s American Legion Post 121.
She is the first female Commander at Post 121 in 100 years, according to Maurice Ramirez, the current Commander of The Sons of The American Legion.
