Community

Marin Ranked Healthiest County in State

Marin County again has been ranked the healthiest of California’s 58 counties because of its relatively low burden of premature deaths, high scores in quality of life, clinical care, and social and economic factors, according to the 2023 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps[External] released March 29.

Published

2 years ago

April 21, 2023

Oakland Post

The rankings, released annually by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, allows counties across the nation to measure community health and well-being over time. Marin has been ranked No. 1 for 13 of the 14 years the rankings have been compiled.

Despite retaining top spot, work continues to tackle inequities

San Rafael, CA – Marin County again has been ranked the healthiest of California’s 58 counties because of its relatively low burden of premature deaths, high scores in quality of life, clinical care, and social and economic factors, according to the 2023 County Health Rankings & Roadmaps[External] released March 29.

Although Marin is consistently ranked among the healthiest counties in California, Marin County Public Health is determined to improve health for all and reduce disparities.

The rankings place greatest weight on quality and length of life. The average Marin resident can expect to live 85.2 years, among the longest in the nation. The report highlights specific factors that support health and longevity at a community level, and Marin ranks highly in almost all areas including access to high quality health care, clean air and water, and access to green space and healthy foods.

“There’s lots to celebrate here,” said Dr. Matt Willis, County of Marin Public Health Officer. “The rankings reinforce what we’re doing right and show us where we have work to do. It’s important to see that a single ranking can hide real disparities in Marin.”

While Marin consistently fares well in most measures, the county falls short in the same two areas year after year: health inequities between communities, and high rates of substance use.

Life expectancy among African American residents in Marin County is 78.3 years, a difference of nearly seven years from the countywide average. The rankings also highlight racial disparities that continue to drive the gap in life expectancy, including disparities in income, housing, health care, and education.

Those known inequities fuel the County’s work to address factors including mental health and housing, as outlined in Marin County’s 2022 Race Equity Plan and the 2018 Health and Human Services Plan for Health and Wellness Equity.

To better inform health equity efforts, Marin County Public Health is developing a data dashboard to describe life expectancy and causes of preventable deaths in all Marin communities. The local data will allow County and community partners to develop informed, equity-focused interventions and help residents participate in improving the health of their own neighborhoods through participation in initiatives such as the County’s participatory budgeting process.

“We remain committed to doing the hard work and changing the outcomes so all in Marin can thrive and live healthy lives,” said Niccore Tyler, Marin Health and Human Services’ Chief Strategy Officer.

“During the pandemic, the success of COVID-19 Community Response Teams demonstrated the value of leading our work through an equity lens to achieve equitable outcomes,” she continued. “While Marin is a healthy place for many, we must recognize that the benefits of our thriving county are not jointly shared. Race is the largest determining factor for outcomes related to health, wealth, and overall quality of life. This is why we, as a county, must continue to lead with race in achieving equitable health outcomes.”

Marin also stands out for higher than state-average overdose deaths. High rates of substance use in all Marin communities is a consistent theme in the rankings. New efforts to curb overdose include the launch of OD Free Marin, a countywide coalition to promote awareness, increase the availability of the overdose reversal spray naloxone, and increase access to substance abuse treatment and mental health services.

Todd Schirmer, Director of Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, said Marin residents are dying from substance use at alarming rates, impacting families, schools, and communities.

“Substance use is a complex problem and requires innovative, system-wide solutions,” Schirmer said. “Marin is increasing its investments to flatten the overdose curve in multiple areas, including deploying additional substance use care navigators, enhancing outreach efforts to overdose survivors, and implementing naloxone vending machines throughout the county.”

Willis concluded, “This report reinforces key lessons of the pandemic. While we’re fortunate to live in a healthy community, significant gaps remain. We’ll have a lot more to celebrate when everyone in Marin has the same chance for a long and healthy life.”

Each year, the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute updates the factors evaluated in the rankings to match emerging public health issues; this year Civic Infrastructure and Participation were added as priority metrics.

Visit www.MarinHHS.org for more information or review Marin’s ranking in more detail at CountyHealthRankings.org.

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Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of December 25 – 31, 2024

Published

7 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Bay Area

Glydways Breaking Ground on 14-Acre Demonstration Facility at Hilltop Mall

Glydways has been testing its technology at CCTA’s GoMentum Station in Concord for several years. The company plans to install an ambitious 28-mile Autonomous Transit Network in East Contra Costa County. The new Richmond facility will be strategically positioned near that project, according to Glydways.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Image of planned Richmond facility courtesy of Glydways.

The Richmond Standard

Glydways, developer of microtransit systems using autonomous, small-scale vehicles, is breaking ground on a 14-acre Development and Demonstration Facility at the former Hilltop Mall property in Richmond, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) reported on social media.

Glydways, which released a statement announcing the project Monday, is using the site while the mall property undergoes a larger redevelopment.

“In the interim, Glydways will use a portion of the property to showcase its technology and conduct safety and reliability testing,” the company said.

The new Richmond development hub will include “over a mile of dedicated test track, enabling Glydways to refine its solutions in a controlled environment while simulating real-world conditions,” the company said.

Visitors to the facility will be able to experience on-demand travel, explore the control center and visit a showroom featuring virtual reality demonstrations of Glydways projects worldwide.

The hub will also house a 13,000-square-foot maintenance and storage facility to service the growing fleet of Glydcars.

“With this new facility [at the former Hilltop Mall property], we’re giving the public a glimpse of the future, where people can experience ultra-quiet, on-demand transit—just like hailing a rideshare, but with the reliability and affordability of public transit,” said Tim Haile, executive director of CCTA.

Janet Galvez, vice president and investment officer at Prologis, owner of the Hilltop Mall property, said her company is “thrilled” to provide space for Glydways and is continuing to work with the city on future redevelopment plans for the broader mall property.

Richmond City Manager Shasa Curl added that Glydways’ presence “will not only help test new transit solutions but also activate the former Mall site while preparation and finalization of the Hilltop Horizon Specific Plan is underway.

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Alameda County

Last City Council Meeting of the Year Ends on Sour Note with Big Budget Cuts

In a five to one vote, with Councilmembers Carroll Fife and Janani Ramachandran excused, the council passed a plan aimed at balancing the $130 million deficit the city is facing. Noel Gallo voted against the plan, previously citing concerns over public safety cuts, while Nikki Fortunato-Bas, Treva Reid, Rebecca Kaplan, Kevin Jenkins, and Dan Kalb voted in agreement with the plan.

Published

3 days ago

December 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Oakland City Council voted on a plan to balance the $130 million deficit at their last regular meeting of 2024. The plan reduces police spending by $25 million, temporarily closes two fire stations, and guts the cultural arts programs. iStock photo.

By Magaly Muñoz

In the last lengthy Tuesday meeting of the Oakland City Council for 2024, residents expressed strong opposition to the much needed budget cuts before a change in leadership was finalized with the certification of election results.

Oakland police and fire departments, the ambassador program, and city arts and culture will all see significant cuts over the course of two phases.

Phase 1 will eliminate two police academies, brown out two fire stations, eliminate the ambassador program, and reduce police overtime by nearly $25 million. These, with several other cuts across departments, aim to save the city $60 million. In addition, the council simultaneously approved to transfer restricted funds into its general purpose fund, amounting to over $40 million.

Phase 2 includes additional fire station brownouts and the elimination of 91 jobs, aiming to recover almost $16 million in order to balance the rest of the budget.

Several organizations and residents spoke out at the meeting in hopes of swaying the council to not make cuts to their programs.

East Oakland Senior Center volunteers and members, and homeless advocates, filled the plaza just outside of City Hall with rallies to show their disapproval of the new budget plan. Senior residents told the council to “remember that you’ll get old too” and that disturbing their resources will only bring problems for an already struggling community.

While city staff announced that there would not be complete cuts to senior center facilities, there would be significant reductions to staff and possibly inter-program services down the line.

Exiting council member and interim mayor Bas told the public that she is still hopeful that the one-time $125 million Coliseum sale deal will proceed in the near future so that the city would not have to continue with drastic cuts. The deal was intended to save the city for fiscal year 2024-25, but a hold up at the county level has paused any progress and therefore millions of dollars in funds Oakland desperately needs.

The Coliseum sale has been a contentious one. Residents and city leaders were originally against using the deal as a way to balance the budget, citing doubts about the sellers, the African American Sports and Entertainment Group’s (AASEG), ability to complete the deal. Council members Reid, Ramachandran, and Gallo have called several emergency meetings to understand where the first installments of the sale are, with little to no answers.

Bas added that as the new Alameda County Supervisor for D5, a position she starts in a few weeks, she will do everything in her power to push the Coliseum sale along.

The city is also considering a sales tax measure to put on the special election ballot on April 15, 2025, which will also serve as an election to fill the now vacant D2 and mayor positions. The tax increase would raise approximately $29 million annually for Oakland, allowing the city to gain much-needed revenue for the next two-year budget.

The council will discuss the possible sales tax measure on January 9.