Latest news with #CalOptima
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Orange County crews break ground on affordable housing for veterans, families with special needs
Orange County officials broke ground on a new affordable housing complex designed to provide permanent housing for low-income veterans, students with families, and individuals and families with special needs. The Lincoln Avenue Apartments, located at a former commercial property on Lincoln Avenue near Knott Avenue in Buena Park, will feature more than 50 low-cost housing units. The development is a collaboration between C&C Development, a Tustin-based firm specializing in affordable housing, and several funding partners, including CalOptima Health. CalOptima Health is contributing $8 million to the project through its Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program. The investment aligns with the state mandate requiring cities to develop new low-income housing and reflects CalOptima's commitment to improving community health and reducing homelessness. Local leaders, including U.S. Rep. Derek Tran, Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Doug Chaffee and Buena Park Mayor Joyce Ahn, attended the groundbreaking ceremony. 'Investing in permanent supportive housing is an essential part of improving the overall health of the community and reducing the unhoused population,' CalOptima officials said in a news release. The project marks the latest in Orange County's efforts to reimagine vacant land and commercial properties into affordable housing solutions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Los Angeles Times
12-02-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
O.C. Asian American groups form partnership to boost cancer screenings
With cancer being the leading cause of death for Asian Americans in Orange County, five key community organizations have banned together to sound a singular message: Get screened. The newly formed Orange County Asian American Cancer Partnership held a kick-off celebration at the offices of Southland Integrated Services in Garden Grove. 'We expect not only to bridge cancer gaps for the 35,000 folks we already serve, but to expand cancer care access to upwards of 10,000 medical patients across diverse linguistic, cultural and geographic communities,' said Ellen Ahn, chief executive of Korean Community Services. The coalition brings together Korean Community Services, Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance, Southland Integrated Services, the Cambodian Family and the Vital Access Care Foundation, which is also known as the Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation. Together, the partnership aims to train patient navigators to educate the Asian American community, through all its diversity, about cancer prevention. 'This doesn't happen through one agency or just through CEOs,' Ahn added. 'It's really a partnership with systems.' Asian Americans are the only racial group where cancer, not heart disease, is the leading cause of death. While Asian Americans have lower overall cancer rates compared to other ethnic groups, studies show that they are also less likely to get screened. Screenings are vital for breast, cervical, colorectal and lung cancer, which are easily identifiable and curable, if found in time. Dr. Richard Pitts, CalOptima's chief medical officer, stressed the importance of screenings as he donned a pink lab coat for the celebration. Pitts keeps the coat on as a reminder to all that even as Breast Cancer Awareness Month ends in October, breast cancer, itself, does not. 'We have to change the narrative so we're all on the same page,' he said. 'We understand that a little bit of fear is fine, but you have to channel it into action. Everybody here should ask five people they know if they're up to date on their cancer screenings.' In 2022, CalOptima announced a five-year, $50.1 million Comprehensive Community Cancer Screening and Support Program. Ahn helped organize a successful bid for a grant, which forged the O.C. Asian American Cancer Partnership with CalOptima. 'Having a program like this that can navigate people to screen, we can get screened earlier,' said Mary Anne Foo, executive director of OCAPICA. 'We can find cancers earlier. Having a program that talks about cancer prevention and treatment … is so vital to Asian Americans. We're just thrilled to be a part of this program.' Dr. Regina Chinsio-Kwong, an Orange County Health Care Agency health officer, reinforced the need to more openly discuss cancer prevention in the community. Chinsio-Kwong, a cancer survivor herself, noted that lung cancer is on the rise for Asian American women under 50 who aren't smokers with the reason why not yet known. 'We need to pay attention to our bodies, talk to our friends, talk to our community, spread the word, so that we can save more lives,' she said. 'If you do get that diagnosis, tell your friends, tell your family [and] they will be there to support you.' Other cancer survivors spoke at the event in an effort to further shrug off any stigma. Dr. Thuy Ahn Nguyen, chief medical officer for Southland Integrated Services, shared her own experiences. In 2020, an ultrasound text and biopsy led to a stage two breast cancer diagnosis, which was an early enough detection to successfully treat it. 'I am very grateful that I survived,' Nguyen said. 'It taught me to cherish every moment, to appreciate little things and never take life for granted.'
