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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 06221993 - IO.1 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra .. FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE f \ Costa •; ' County DATE: June 14, 1993 V .r, cciii+'t'1 SUBJECT: REPORT ON PLANNING FOR THE THIRD BAY AREA CANCER SUMMIT AND FUNDING FOR THE PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY AND THE BOSTON AREA SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1 . ACCEPT the attached' report from the Public Health Director updating us ' on the status of plans for the Third Bay Area Cancer Summit and on plans for a prospective study of the incidence of cancer in the Bay Area and the Boston area. 2 . REQUEST the Public Health Director to make a further report to our Committee on this subject on September 27, 1993. BACKGROUND: On March 16, 1993, the Board of Supervisors adopted our most recent report on this subject and asked Dr. Wendel Brunner to provide our Committee with a further status report on June 14, 1993 . On June 14, 1993 we met with Dr. Brunner and reviewed the attached{ report. Dr. Brunner emphasized that the Bay Area Cancer Coalition has applied to the Centers for Disease Control for funding to plan for and produce the Third Bay Area Cancer Summit. The effort of putting - together this application has generated considerable support from the community and the media and awareness .of what we are trying to accomplish. At this point, little additional work can be done without additional financial resources.. Dr. Brunner is still hoping that the Summit can be planned for the fall of 1993, but this will depend entirely on funding. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD MI T E APPROVE �� THER �=-�-�i� SUNNE WRIGHT McPEAK fJAEFF SMITH SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF BOARD ON Tune 22, 1993 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A.TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. ATTESTED Contact: PHIL BATC�ELOR.CLERK OF THE BOARD OF CC: County Administrator SUPERVI/ RS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Health Services Director Wendel Brunner, M.D. , Public Health Director BY ,DEPUTY In terms of the prospective study of the incidence of cancer, a letter has been sent to former Speaker of the House of Representatives Tip O'Neill to solicit his interest in helping to get such a study funded, using both the Bay Area and the Boston area as study sites . No response has been received to date. Dr. Brunner also highlighted the contacts being made with the U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health and the U.C. Davis campus regarding the possibility of seeking funding for an environmental health center in the area which would focus particularly on the health issues of minority and underserved populations, who may have multiple community health issues . We have asked that Dr. Brunner return to our Committee on September 27, 1993 with a further status report on these issues. -2- r Contra Costa County -` Health Services Department PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION 7' Administrative Offices 0 597 Center Avenue Suite 200 �'O•: _ 'G� Martinez,California 94553 sr`1 co TO: Internal Operations Committee Supervisor Sunne McPeak Supervisor Jeff Smith/ FROM: Wendel Brunner, M.D. Assistant Health Services Director for Public Health DATE: June 11, 1993 SUBJECT: Status Report on Cancer Control Initiatives Through the Bay Area Cancer Coalition The Bay Area Cancer Coalition (BACC) submitted its proposal, "Cancer: People, Politics, and Dollars" a Conference to Build a Regional Approach to Chronic Disease Prevention and Control to the Centers for Disease Control, on March 22 . In the process of developing that grant application, considerable community support was elicited for the third Cancer Summit, as expressed in letters of support. In addition to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors we received letters of support from Senator Boxer, Alameda County Health Department, and the San Francisco City Attorney. Support from community-based organizations included the Network on Hispanic/Latino Tobacco Control, Tobacco-Free Bay Area Community Linkage Project, Hispanic Cancer Prevention Project, and Suc Khoe La Vang! (Health is Gold! ) , a Vietnamese community project. Letters of support from media came from KCBS, KQED, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner, KPIX, and KTVU. UCLA Breast Center, UCSF Department of Medicine, and U.C. Berkeley School of Public Health were the academic institution endorsing the conference. We have not yet received notification as to whether our grant application will be accepted by the Centers for Disease Control. In any case, the development of the application has clarified the concept of the third Cancer Summit for the BACC, and has elicited important community buy-in for the conference. We are also reworking the proposal to submit with a more extensive budget to other funding sources. A372 (7/91) We have sent a letter including an extensive description of the BACC and our proposed Cancer Summit strategy as well as prospective cancer study approach to Tip O'Neill in Boston. In that letter we have solicited his support for developing contacts with public health agencies and academic institutions in the Boston area which may be interested in a bi-coastal collaboration. Obviously the logistics of organizing such a coalition could be formidable; however, we believe that the BACC approach has much to offer other areas of the country. The Bay Area Cancer Coalition has been working to strengthen ties with the State Health Services Department and promote their involvement with cancer control and chronic disease prevention on a regional level. Dr. Don Lyman of DHS, who is in charge of both chronic disease prevention and cancer control in the State Health Services Department, will be participating at the next BACC Steering Committee meeting. Finally, the Contra Costa Health Services Department is pursuing contacts with both the Berkeley School of Public Health and the Davis campus to explore their interest in pursuing an application from the National Institutes of Environmental Health to establish an environmental health center focusing particularly on the health issues of minority and underserved populations, who may have multiple community health issues. Whatever may or may not develop around this current NIEH proposal, we believe the long term prospects for effective collaboration between our Health Services Department and the School of Public Health and other regional academic institutions are excellent. WB:rm cc: Mark Finucane, Director Health Services Department Contra Costa County - o Health Services Department t = • PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION � .... 9a Administrative Offices �•,, _ 597 Center Avenue Suite 200 Martinez,California 94553 SpA,COU1'Z� May 25, 1993 Mr. Tip O'Neill O'Neill & Athy 1310-19th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036 Dr. Mr. O'Neill: The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors and Contra Costa County Health Services Department initiated the Bay Area Cancer Coalition (BACC)in 1987 to promote regional efforts for cancer prevention and control in the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the goals of the BACC is to place cancer prevention and control on the agenda of local public health agencies and local government. To that end the BACC has held two Cancer Summit conferences in the Bay Area, and is planning for a third summit in 1994 . In addition, the Contra Costa County Health Services Department is working with the BACC and other. organizations to facilitate the implementation of a long term study on the incidence, causes, and prevention of cancer in the San Francisco Bay Area region. The Bay Area Cancer Coalition consists of eight local health departments from the San Francisco Bay Area counties, major voluntary organizations (American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, and American Lung Association) , three major universities (University of California at Berkeley, University of California at San Francisco, and Stanford University) , the Woman's Cancer Center, the Northern California Cancer Center, Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, and the California Department of Health Services . BACC grants and contracts are administered by the California Public Health Foundation. Several major projects illustrate BACC's commitment to cancer prevention: • The Breast and Cervical Cancer Intervention Study. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, the study is pioneering intervention research in cancer screening. This five year study of breast and cervical cancer in low income and multi- ethnical communities examines methods to establish accessible, more affordable screening and improve follow-up through county operated outpatient clinics . Over 25,000 women are being targeted in this controlled. clinical trial. A372 (7/91) • Smoking and Passive Smoking Patterns in Chinese-Americans. Funded by the University of California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, this project generates data for establishing priorities in smoking prevention and cessation. Over 230,000 Chinese-Americans will be surveyed. • California's Proposition #99, the Tobacco Tax and Health Promotion Initiative. BACC played a significant role in the passage of Proposition #99, which has led to a nationally as well as internationally acclaimed health promotion/disease prevention campaign. • Bay Area Project LEAN. BACC conducted this Kaiser Family Foundation sponsored low fat diet program, involving the media and collaborating with Safeway Supermarkets throughout Northern California. • Bay Area Regional Cancer Summits. BACC convened the Bay Area Regional Cancer Summit in 1988 with funding from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Participants examined the epidemiology of cancer, and identified prevention strategies focusing . on public information, community mobilization, public policy and organizational change. The second Bay Area Regional Cancer Summit, held in 1989, focused on additional capacity building, resource development, and strategic planning skills . • The Tobacco-Free Challenge. Funded by the California Department of Health Services Tobacco Control Section, this was the State's first regional tobacco control project. As well as a Bay Area-wide media campaign, this was the only project in California to sponsor a sports car, the Tobacco- Free Challenge, in opposition to the tobacco industry' s penetration into motor sports . The Contra Costa County Health Services Department has been working with the Bay Area Cancer Coalition and other agencies to look at the possibility of implementing a long term, prospective study on the incidence, causes, and prevention of cancer in the Bay Area . Originally initiated by a concern in Contra Costa County about environmental contribution to cancer from petrochemical industrial pollution, the potential approaches have been broadened to look at general causes of cancer and strategies for prevention, particularly targeting minority, low income, and medically underserved populations . The Bay Area is a particularly attractive region to institute such a study, because of the combination of academic institutions, community agencies, interested health departments and local government officials, and diverse communities . The region is also served by a long established population based tumor registry, which provides a wealth of data for epidemiologists . Programs to investigate the causes of cancer can benefit from studies on an expanded population base. The Boston region is an Programs to investigate the causes of cancer can benefit from studies on an expanded population base. The Boston region is an area that could make major contributions to the understanding of cancer in populations . I know that you have expressed interest in the subject of cancer, particularly as it impacts populations in Massachusetts . I am writing to inquire if there are public health agencies or academic institutions whose interest in a collaborative study including the Boston and Bay Area regions you could facilitate. A collaborative research proposal spanning both coasts of the nation could be quite attractive to the major funding agencies, such as the National Cancer Institute, which would be required to underwrite such an extensive effort. I am also enclosing a portion of a grant application from the BACC to the Centers of Disease Control for funding to hold a third Bay Area Regional Cancer Summit. This proposal describes in more detail the goals and directions of the Bay Area Cancer Coalition, and may be of interest to similar organizations in the Boston region. I look forward to hearing any ideas and suggestions from you which might facilitate a bi-coastal cancer prevention endeavor. Sincerely, Wendel Brunner, M.D. Assistant Health Services Director for Public Health WB:rm Enclosure