Public Health Councils Program

About the Program

Category: Health (Best in Category)

Year: 2022

In Los Angeles County, as elsewhere, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on low-wage workers and communities of color, especially Black and Brown people. Certain industries have had particularly high rates of worksite outbreaks, including garment and food manufacturing, warehousing, restaurants, and grocery stores. The Public Health Councils (PHC) program is an innovative response that addresses local health inequities and ensures that workers hardest hit by COVID-19 are protected by Health Officer Orders. HOOs are mandated directives businesses are required to implement to reduce COVID-19 spread. The PHC program—the first of its kind in the nation—funds community-based organizations (CBOs) to conduct outreach to low-wage workers and support them in forming PHCs — committees where workers discuss strategies for increasing HOO compliance at their worksite. Using peer-to-peer education, workers increase awareness among their coworkers about how to improve health conditions and submit HOO complaints to Public Health, while health educators conduct educational outreach to businesses. Between April 2021 and February 2022, 25 PHCs were established; 34 complaints were submitted; 8,807 workers and 1670 employers received educational outreach; an additional 693 workers received vaccine education during 33 educational sessions; and 461 were vaccinated at 21 worksite mobile clinics.