Blog note: this article references a 2010 grand jury report.
Assemblyman Todd Gloria wants state auditors to dig into whether San Diego County’s response to last year’s deadly hepatitis A outbreak was adequate.
The assemblyman on Thursday released a letter calling on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee to determine whether “the public health of all Californians was sufficiently protected” amid an outbreak that spread throughout the state.
Gloria’s request highlighted revelations by Voice of San Diego, including county bureaucrats’ decision not to share detailed data on cases or deaths with the public – or with cities scrambling to respond to the health crisis. The assemblyman also requested that state auditors look into the steps local officials took to address the outbreak prior to the county’s September public health emergency declaration. That followed a VOSD story documenting bureaucratic fumbling in response to the unprecedented outbreak.
The audit committee is set to vote on May 16 on whether to pursue the review.
A spokesman for Mayor Kevin Faulconer told the San Diego Union-Tribune that the city would welcome an outside review and was confident reviewers would note its aggressive response to the outbreak.
County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who’s repeatedly criticized the city for its sluggish reaction to the health crisis, did so again Thursday.
“Although we are currently seeing great leadership at the City of San Diego with tackling homelessness and the housing crisis, it’s important to remember that the County Grand Jury in 2010 called on city leaders to address the growing homeless population, including the need for more public restrooms and sanitizing streets and sidewalks,” Jacob wrote in a statement shared with VOSD and the U-T. “If state leaders want to look at where this crisis originated, that would be a good start.”
This brought a heated response from City Councilman David Alvarez. “The County should be placed in receivership by the state for malpractice and ineptitude in dealing with health and human services,” he wrote. It continued.
Jacob also offered up some news: The county is expected to release its own after-action review of its response to the hepatitis A outbreak next week.
-Lisa Halverstadt
May 4, 2018
Voice of San Diego
By Seth Hall
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