Posts Tagged: care
How to Keep on Gardening as We Get Older
“Gardening becomes increasingly difficult as we age, yet the garden beckons as strongly as...
Living With Oaks in the Home Landscape
No doubt you have seen many species of oaks living in wild areas of Northern California. But...
Valley Oak. UC Regents
Employee comment: Affiliations with certain health care organizations
The University of California Office of the President invites comments on the draft Presidential Policy on Affiliations with Certain Health Care Organizations, which supports the implementation of Regents Policy 4405. The policy makes revisions to the existing interim Presidential Policy, which was first circulated for systemwide review in March 2022. The policy has been revised to:
- Focus on UC values by enhancing the policy summary statement and addressing the importance of affiliations with government agencies;
- Clarify expectations of UC providers and define “emergency services” and “emergency medical conditions” under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and the California Department of Managed Health Care;
- Specify implementation of the voluntary requirement for UC health trainees to support continuity of University training programs; and
- Reduce administrative burden for “limited affiliations,” while maintaining consistency with Regents Policy 4405.
The proposed revisions to the policy may be viewed at https://ucanr.edu/sites/PCPA/Revisions/.
If you have any questions or if you wish to comment on this policy revision, please contact Robin Sanchez at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu, no later than Oct. 11, 2023. Please indicate “Affiliations Policy” in the subject line.
Fewer than 10% of patients screened for food insecurity during pandemic
Study finds even fewer screened during virtual appointments
As jobless rates rose during the COVID-19 pandemic, millions more Americans experienced food insecurity because they lacked consistent access to food. National health organizations recommend primary care providers screen patients for food insecurity, since not having access to enough food can lead to chronic diseases.
But research from the University of California, Davis, finds that only 7% of primary care providers screened patients for food insecurity. If the appointment was virtual or telehealth, only 3% asked patients about their access to food. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine published the research.
“These rates are surprising and seem relatively small in comparison with what seems like a growing awareness of food insecurity during the pandemic,” said lead author Cassandra Nguyen, an assistant professor of Cooperative Extension in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition.
She said the findings may indicate that health care providers were prioritizing emergency responses to COVID-19. The research showed that once people had access to COVID-19 vaccines, screening for food insecurity increased to 10%.
Barriers to telehealth screenings
Screening for food insecurity at telehealth appointments remained low even after vaccines became available. Nguyen said that may suggest telehealth appointments have unique barriers.
“One of those barriers could be a concern about privacy and whether the patient is alone or feels comfortable discussing a potentially stigmatizing experience such as food insecurity. This may deter a primary care provider from asking about it,” Nguyen said.
Screening might also be more difficult if patients aren't familiar with the technology needed or if there are technological disruptions during telehealth appointments. Nguyen said more study is needed about potential barriers given the increased popularity of telehealth appointments since the pandemic.
The research examined electronic health records and clinic data from a national network of more than 400 community health centers in 16 states. It examined encounters between March 11, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021. Screening typically involves a primary care provider asking the patient to answer that either or both of the following two statements is often true or sometimes true:
- Within the past 12 months we worried whether our food would run out before we got money to buy more.
- Within the past 12 months the food we bought just didn't last and we didn't have money to get more.
Co-authors include Rachel Gold with OCHIN Inc. and Kaiser Permanente Northwest Center for Health Research; Alaa Mohammad, Dedra Buchwald and Clemma Muller with Washington State University; Molly Krancari, Megan Hoopes and Suzanne Morrissey with OCHIN Inc.
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases supported the research.
/h3>/h3>Seven Tips for Success When Planting Your Vegetable Seedlings Into the Garden
We often get questions at the help desk from local gardeners who have lost many or sometimes even all their newly planted vegetable seedlings to one malady or another. Whether you have grown them from seed and tended your precious seedlings for many weeks, or have purchased them as young plants, this can be a heart-breaking occurrence. Here are seven steps you can take to give your young plants the best chance to survive and thrive.
Be patient and wait until the soil is the optimum temperature.
This applies for both purchased plants and for home-started seedlings. Your plants may have grown large enough to go into the ground, but if the outdoor temperatures are not yet at the optimal range, don't be tempted to plant them yet! When planted in soil that is too cold, many summer vegetable plants will just not grow. They are also more susceptible to being damaged or killed by fungal diseases. How does one know if the soil is the right temperature? The best way is to use a soil thermometer. A good kitchen thermometer will also work, although you may want to have one that is designated for use only in the garden. If you don't have a thermometer, watch for daytime high temperatures to remain consistently above 60 degrees and nighttime temperatures above 50 degrees. For more information on this, you may want to review our previous blog posting published on February 20th entitled: “Indoor Seed Starting."
Cool-season vegetables such as peas, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, beets, and Swiss chard will do best when average temperatures range from 55 - 75ºF. Warm-season vegetables prefer temperatures that range from 65 - 95ºF. Examples of these are eggplants, tomatoes, beans, squash, melons, and peppers. Best planting times will differ for many vegetable varieties. Check seed packets or the planting guide listed below for information on the best dates for planting in your area.
CCC Vegetable Planting Guide-Interior Regions
CCC Vegetable Planting Guide-Coastal Regions
Avoid letting plants become pot bound.
Move your plants into containers that give them more room for healthy root growth. Transplanting into 4-inch, quart, and even gallon sizes is often necessary. Use a good quality soilless potting mix and avoid planting mixes and garden soil. To check if your plant needs a larger pot, gently tap the sides of the container it is in and carefully slide it out (soil, roots, and all) to look at the root growth. Transplant into larger containers before the roots begin to circle the edge of the soil, create a mat of roots at the bottom of the container, or grow out of the drain holes. Pot bound, stressed plants will often have early flower and fruit development. This can stunt their growth and impact the plant's health as well as reducing future harvests.
Harden off young plants to prepare them for their life outdoors.
Sunscald is a common problem in young plants and seedlings that have suddenly received more sunlight than they were previously accustomed to getting. Sunscald causes areas on the leaf to dry out and die, turning thin and papery and a white or light tan color. Most seedlings will bounce back from a moderate amount of sunscald damage and continue to grow new, healthy leaves. When the damage is so extensive that all or nearly all the leaf surfaces or areas of the stem are affected, the plant may not be able to survive.
To avoid this problem, plants must be hardened off. This is a process used to acclimate young plants and seedlings to the conditions outdoors. For seedlings that have been grown in a greenhouse, indoors under lights, or other protected environment, this is a crucial step. The hardening off process will take about 10 days to two weeks. Here is an excellent article from Penn State Extension with step-by-step instructions on how to harden off plants.
https://extension.psu.edu/hardening-transplants
Keep your plants safe from hungry pests- snails, slugs, earwigs, and birds.
Even the most experienced gardeners will lose some of their young vegetable plants to one or more hungry garden pests. My first suggestion is to always have a few extra plants to replace those that may get eaten. My second is if you have had problems in the past with one or more pests consuming your vegetable seedlings, start taking steps to control them before you plant. Don't wait until the damage is already done. The methods of controlling many of the pests are similar and include keeping your garden free of plant debris and favored hiding places, trapping, barriers, and baits. Baits that are safe for children, pets, and wildlife are available to the homeowner, and are very effective. Because they can take several days to take effect, it is best to use them in conjunction with the other suggested control methods. The best time to start using these control methods is several days to one week before planting.
Birds can also be a serious pest in the vegetable garden- especially early in the season as many vegetable starts are a favorite food. While there are many products advertised to scare birds away and keep them from eating your plants, bird netting is the solution that I find to be most effective. Make sure that the netting is raised above the plants to keep birds from reaching through to eat, and securely staked to the ground so that they cannot get underneath. Check your netting regularly, keep netting stretched snugly over supports, and avoid any loose ends that can trap and kill birds, lizards, and other wildlife. As plants mature, they are less attractive to the birds, and netting can often be removed. See one of our earlier blogs for more information on protecting your plants from a variety of pests: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/index.cfm?tagname=birds
Space requirements for healthy vegetable plants
Before planting it is important to consider the mature size of the plants, and the space necessary for them to grow and flourish. Vegetable plants do not do well in overcrowded situations where they need to compete for nutrients, water, and sunlight. They will tend to be stunted and much less productive than those that have plenty of room. For information on space requirements for a variety of vegetable plants, click here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/MarinMG/files/343708.pdf.
Transplanting tips, suggestions
If transplanting from flats with several plants growing in them, be sure to take up some soil with each plant as you carefully remove each one from the flat. If transplanting single plants from individual containers, try to remove them from the container with the soil as intact as possible to avoid root damage. This will be much easier to do if the plants have been watered recently and the soil in the container is well moistened. Choose a cool, cloudy day to transplant or wait until late in the day when the sun is low in the sky. Don't forget to thoroughly water your plants immediately after planting. If you have questions about the best way to handle and transplant seedlings, see this video from the Master Gardener Program of San Luis Obispo County:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72dqbPZFgFY
Give your plants some shade after planting in the garden.
It is difficult to completely avoid damaging a plant's root hairs when transplanting. Root hairs are necessary to take up water and nutrients. Giving your plants some shade in the hottest part of the day for the first 5–7 days after transplanting will help keep them cooler while they regrow their root hairs. Garden shade structures do not have to be complicated and can either be purchased or made at home with items you may already have. Shade cloth, or even the plant flats used for carrying pots can be used. They are easy to set up and can be used year after year. Learn more about shading your plants in this link to a previous blog post:
https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=55005
Be sure to look at our Master Gardener Program website to find a wide variety of useful information. Our previous blogs can also be found here: https://ccmg.ucanr.edu/
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa County (SMH)