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Ridgecrest and Humboldt Del Norte Host the Future of Work and Health Program
by Luisa Buada
CIRHM Executive Director
The California Institute for Rural Health Management (CIRHM) was funded by the California Wellness Foundation under its Future of Work and Health Program to meet with community leaders to discuss the relationship between work and health in rural California.
CIRHM's ongoing work with diverse rural communities throughout California began to evidence the profound impact that the changing rural economy has had on community health issues. By using surveys given to a diverse group of community employers and through local community meetings, CIRHM, together with economists and researchers funded by the California Wellness Foundation, has begun to study the changing nature of work and its impact on the health of rural Californians. The information from these meetings will highlight the relationship between work and health in rural communities. Results from the meetings will be compiled in a written report to be utilized by state health, economic and labor experts and by the California Wellness Foundation to assess the impact of diverse rural economies on the health of its citizens and evaluate potential policy implications for rural communities as they plan for the future. A better understanding of how local businesses and industry impact the health of rural residents is important to policy makers and economists in California in order to more effectively shape rural delivery systems and healthcare strategies for the future.
These sessions, which will address healthcare delivery options and future strategies for changing rural economies, are expected to encompass all three of the California Wellness Foundation, Future of Work and Health Program’s theme issues: (1) getting left behind by a changing economy; (2) a widening of income inequality; and (3) a changing contract between employer and employees.
During the fall of 1999, CIRHM conducted employer and health provider surveys, convened five employee group sessions and held a community meeting in Ridgecrest. In Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, CIRHM held ten mini-forums with employee groups and small employers and conducted an employer and health provider survey. The findings of these sessions and surveys are also being shared with the local communities through their DRIS Councils as a tool for them to explore ways that community health can be improved through employment and economic development.
This year, CIRHM will convene the Future of Work and Health meetings in two additional communities which are yet to be determined. Funding from the James Irvine Foundation, DRIS Initiative was used to supplement CIRHM’s Future of Work and Health activities.
A big thank you to Debbie Robertson, Local Coordinator in the Indian Wells Valley, and to Brian Mau, Local Coordinator in Humboldt-Del Norte, for their well organized planning and support during the Fall Future of Work and Health sessions.
© CIRHM