LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 2, 2019 / Labor Health is more than just a physical feeling; it is a sense of overall wellness. While people often think of germs, diseases, and infections as the greatest determinants to wellbeing, issues like homelessness, food insecurity, and even climate change can have grave impact on health outcomes. Understanding the importance of these social factors, Dr. Cynthia Telles, chair of Kaiser Permanente's Community Health Committee and director of the University of California, Los Angeles' Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence, highlighted Kaiser Permanente's recently sponsored discussion on homelessness, housing insecurity, and related health implications at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club.
"Homelessness is one of the most persistent issues complicating healthy lifestyles and disease prevention," said Dr. Telles. "Even the highest quality care will only have limited effectiveness if the patient doesn't have safe and consistent housing. We must address homelessness in a meaningful way if we are to succeed in creating healthy and thriving communities."
The August 14th event, which convened area homelessness experts and health leaders to discuss solutions, continued Dr. Cynthia Telles' and the hospital system's ongoing commitment to addressing the health impacts of homelessness. Earlier this year, the organization joined forces with mayors and CEOs for the U.S. Housing Investment initiative to address the nation's housing crisis and brainstorm ways to assist the half-million people without consistent, stable homes.
In addition to a focus on housing insecurity, Kaiser Permanente and the Community Health Committee led by Dr. Telles are also working to address other social elements that impact overall health. For example, Kaiser Permanente pledged to use science, research, and partnerships to combat health challenges worldwide and devise creative, innovative solutions. This has manifested into nearly 1,800 published journal articles, sharing collective knowledge to identify more equitable health outcomes to complex health problems.
Additionally, Kaiser Permanente embarked on a forward-looking strategy focused on climate change, preventable weapon-related deaths, and inspiring future health care professionals. Within the past year alone, the organization successfully powered 35% of its operations with renewable energy, and further pledged to be carbon neutral in 2020.
"Homelessness is a key focus, but we recognize the myriad of issues that influence community and individual health," said Dr. Telles. "We are committed to doing the research necessary to understand these challenges and create programs that drive progress. This year, we began researching strategies to prevent the 30,000 firearm deaths that occur in America each year and made greater investments in supporting educational access - all of which will lead to greater improvement in overall health."
Cynthia Telles, PhD has dedicated her professional career to expanding access to high-quality health and mental health care, especially to underserved communities. She has served on Boards of Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. since April 2003, where she is also chair of the Community Health Committee. Additionally, she has chaired the boards of the California Endowment, and the California Community Foundation. For over three decades, Dr. Telles has been the director of the UCLA Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clinic, which provides psychiatric and psychological services to low-income Latino patients and training to mental health professionals. Currently, she is also director of the UCLA Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence.
Cynthia Telles - Healthcare Industry Leader: http://cynthiatellesnews.com
Dr. Cynthia Telles Reflects on the Growing Importance of Digitally-Enabled Care and Information: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/dr-cynthia-telles-reflects-growing-164000306.html
Cynthia Telles Asserts Employees are a Critical Component to Quality Care: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/cynthia-telles-asserts-employees-critical-202000038.html
Contact Information:
John Nelson, Vice President, Kaiser Permanente Communications
Email: [email protected]
Office: (510) 267-2822
CynthiaTelles.com
SOURCE: Cynthia Telles