The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on May 23 to extend its agreement with the Children and Families Commission of Orange County—a group affiliated with the Orange County Health Agency—to provide healthcare to pregnant and parenting mothers and their children through June 2024. Services cover pregnant and prenatal women and their children from…

Dr. Clayon Chau, Orange County’s Health Care Agency director, submitted a letter of resignation March 28, and is expected to leave the post June 1, 2023. “Although I feel sad about leaving, the time is right. It is time for me to take a break,” Chau said March 29 in an emailed statement to The…

The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved Jan. 24 a temporary cold weather shelter for the homeless in Fullerton, ending a six-month search. The facility will be located at Independence Park’s gymnasium, providing 90 beds, Doug Becht, the director of operations for the Orange County Health Care Agency, said during the board’s meeting. Becht…

Authorities shut down over 100 unpermitted sidewalk vendors in the last six weeks in Santa Ana, California, for selling food “unfit for human consumption,” city officials announced Dec. 20. Orange County Health Care Agency personnel collaborated with Santa Ana police and code enforcement to carry out the shutdowns. “The big thing is safety. The food…

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Dec. 20 to terminate the local health emergency that was extended late last month, for the respiratory virus known as RSV. The emergency allows the county to access federal and state resources for assistance and seek mutual aid from neighboring counties. The emergency declaration was initiated on…

The Orange County Health Care Agency—which monitors public health in the Southern California county—will move to a new, larger campus in Irvine at the end of 2024, after the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a $78.24 million contract for construction of the site during a recent meeting. Unlike the health agency’s current office—on…

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously on Nov. 29 to extend the county’s local health emergency for the respiratory virus known as RSV for another 30 days. The emergency allows the county to access federal and state resources for assistance and seek mutual aid from neighboring counties. The decision came after spokespersons for…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—Orange County health officials are reporting the discovery of a second rabid bat in the last month. A bat found Oct. 6 outside the main lobby of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Building on Alton Parkway in Irvine has tested positive for rabies, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Given the location…

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A bat found at a parking lot in Fountain Valley tested positive for rabies, according to Orange County health officials. The animal was found at around 10:30 a.m. Sept. 14 at Pickleball Court No. 1 at the Fountain Valley Tennis Center on 16400 Brookhurst Street. Given the location and circumstance, the Orange County…

The University of California–Irvine (UCI) last week received 10 million from the Orange County Health Care Agency to study the long-term impact of the Young Adult Court in the county—a program to help young adults charged with a felony reduce their sentence and lead a productive life going forward. The grant will fund a research…