Shaping Healthcare Stories Since 1975

According to the Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, a child is injured or killed from gun violence every 30 hours in L.A. County. Just in 2022, more than 500 people died after being shot with a gun. With gun shot wounds up, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) will distribute free gun locks to the public with no questions asked. The public can pick up the gun locks from a distribution box inside of the hospital’s emergency room 24/7. PVHMC is among a handful of local hospitals to receive free gun locks from the Los Angeles County Office of Violence Prevention in efforts to reduce accidental gunshot wounds and deaths. To introduce the program to the public, PVHMC partnered with the Pomona Police Department to demonstrate how to use the steel cable gun locks. PVHMC Medical Director of Trauma Services Michael Jimenez M.D. demonstrated ‘Stop the Bleed’ techniques to teach the public how to stop major hemorrhaging with tourniquets and properly applied pressure until first responders arrive. PVHMC Trauma Services averages about 12 patients a year with accidental injuries from a firearm with the average of patients ranging from ages 2 – 58. Check out our coverage below: ABC7 Los Angeles - Pomona Valley Hospital Free Gun Lock Giveaway KTLA - Free Gun Locks Distributed in Pomona Hospital KFI Radio – Pomona Hospital Gives Away Free Gun Locks KNX Radio - Pomona Hospital Offers Free Gun Locks KABC Radio - Free Gun Locks in Pomona Hospital Univision Edicion Digital Los Angeles - Pomona Hospital Offers Free Gun Locks to Save (3:28-5:54)

According to the Pew Research Center, 8.5 million Latinos are eligible to vote in California, more than any other state in the country. In 2020, 53% of eligible Latino voters voted in the presidential election. AltaMed Health Services’ My Vote. My Health., a nonpartisan initiative aims to increase voter turnout in underserved communities and promote civic engagement to Latino communities. To make voting more accessible, AltaMed regularly partners with the L.A. County Registrar Recorder to bring Flex Voting Centers to its health clinics. Over the course of two weeks, AltaMed, one of the nation’s largest federally qualified community health centers, offered 15 early voting locations for the community Days before the election, Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Julián Castro, the current Chief Executive Officer of the Latino Community Foundation, and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and other community partners gathered at AltaMed South Gate and urged voters to head to the polls. Check out coverage below: CBS Los Angeles -Healthcare Company Teams up With Local Registrars to Increase Civic Engagement Spectrum News – Flex Voting Center Offers Options to Voters in South Gate. Spectrum News - AltaMed Clinic's flex voting center offers options to voters in South Gate. Univision Al Punto California - AltaMed VP of Government Relations and Civic Engagement Lizette Escobedo discusses the importance of the civic engagement process and the impact of the Latino vote (14:55). Univision National - AltaMed doctors and volunteers canvass in Lynwood to talk to the community about the upcoming election. Activista Media - AltaMed doctors and volunteers canvass around its health center to let the community know about the upcoming election. Activista Media – AltaMed doctors discuss the connection between our health and voting. Radio Bilingue - Lizette Escobedo discusses AltaMed’s efforts to mobilize the Latino vote to address the connection with our health. Univision Al Punto California – AltaMed Health Services Chief Health Correspondent and Medical Affairs Officer Dr. Ilan Shapiro explains Prop. 35. Harvard Public Health - Doctors make the connection to why voting is good for your health.

Overdose Awareness Week seeks to bring attention to the more than 100,000 lives lost every year in the U.S. to drug overdoses. The CDC has reported that for the first time in ten years, the number of fatal overdoses has not increased and is holding steady. This month, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center (PVHMC) installed a Naloxone Distribution Box outside of its emergency department with free Naloxone and Fentanyl test strip kits to anyone who needs them, with no questions asked. PVHMC is one of the few hospitals in the area with a Naloxone Distribution Box. PVHMC Substance Use Nurse Navigator Sherrie Cisneros, RN, demonstrated how to use Naloxone nasal spray for media outlets. Check out our coverage below: Univision 34 Los Angeles KNX-AM Radio KNX-AM Radio NTD Fox 11 Los Angeles San Gabriel Valley Tribune Daily Bulletin ABC7 Los Angeles Canela News