The increases, previously approved by the Legislature, will take effect once they are signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and they will be retroactive to April 2007, according to a report from the office of North Coast State Sen. Patricia Wiggins' (D -Santa Rosa).

The raises were approved in part to help stem a staffing exodus which began in October 2006, following a court case (Plata v. Schwarzenegger) that triggered an 18-percent salary increase for medical and clinical staff at the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).

That decision had unintended consequences, negatively impacting the staffing capabilities of other state departments: the Department of Developmental Services (DDS), the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (DVA).

Between July 2006 and March 2007, DMH lost 58 psychiatric technicians, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers to various prison facilities, while DDS has lost more than 100 workers to CDCR this year.

“Due to the efforts of many, we have begun to address the issue of inequitable pay for medical and clinical staff at DDS, DMH and DVA in this year’s state budget,” said Wiggins.

She said there is now momentum on the issue, and it's important for people to recognize the linkages between CDCR and the other state departments. While the health care services within CDCR are improving, there is still a great reliance on state departments to provide necessary and specialized mental health services, disability recovery services and acute nursing care, Wiggins reported.

“It is imperative that all patients and inmates receive the best possible access to quality care,” Wiggins said. “Recruitment and retention of medical and clinical staff is a vested interest not only for all of the state departments, but for the people of California as well.”

She added, “I will continue to work towards ensuring long-term pay parity for workers at the Yountville Veteran’s Home, the Sonoma Developmental Center and Napa State Hospital.”

This past March, Wiggins co-authored a letter (signed by five other legislators with state medical facilities in their districts) to leaders of key legislative budget committees detailing the “critical need for additional clinical staff at state hospitals and other institutions.”

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The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program investigates elder abuse complaints in nursing homes and residential care facilities for the elderly.

Ombudsman volunteers are adult men and women, from diverse backgrounds and experiences, who are selected for their concern about the safety and welfare of individuals living in long term care.

Ombudsman volunteers receive a 40-hour intensive training facilitated by the program coordinator. They also receive ongoing supervision and training.

For information and an application, contact Lori Sweeney, ombudsman coordinator, at 463-7950.

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Berg, who chairs the Assembly committee that oversees health spending, will be part of a seven-member working group consulting with Speaker Fabian Núñez as he negotiates a health plan with the governor and Senate.

“The North Coast is at the table,” said Berg, D-Eureka. “I’ll be there to give voice to our region’s desire for affordability and universality.”

Núñez, whose plans have been to expand healthcare access rather than create an entirely new system, said Berg and others will bring a “broad diversity of views” to the negotiations.

“These legislators will provide critical direction,” Núñez said.

Other members of the group are: Assembly members Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles; Hector De La Torre, D-South Gate; Mervyn Dymally, D-Los Angeles; Mark DeSaulnier, D-Martinez; Ed Hernandez, D-Baldwin Park; and Mary Hayashi, D-Hayward.

“We’re dealing with two major problems here,” said Berg. “One is access to care, and the other is how we’re going to finance it.”

Berg’s appointment continues her role as a key voice on health care reform.

She co-authored both major bills this session, the single-payer bill (SB 840) by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, and the insurance expansion plan (AB 8) by Núñez and Senate leader Don Perata, D-Oakland.

Kuehl’s bill stalled as politically untenable this year, and although the Legislature approved the Núñez/Perata bill, the governor has promised to veto it. Left with no significant reform, the governor called the Legislature into special session so they can find a compromise.

Health care reform has proved a very difficult subject which ignites the concerns of patients, doctors, hospital operators, insurance companies, labor groups, businesses and local governments.

“Nobody said it would be easy,” said Berg. “Nobody said we’re going to get everything we want. But we’re certainly going to try.”

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“More people will be tested,” said Berg, D-Eureka. “That means more people will seek treatment earlier, and fewer people will be spreading the virus.”

Assembly Bill 682 deletes a provision in existing law that requires patients to sign a special form before receiving a blood test for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Experts say this written form tends to discourage people from being tested.

While AB 682 makes it easier for doctors to test their patients, it still ensures that Californians have a right to decline the test.

The bill brings California in line with guidelines proposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“This bill is important as it will empower people, educate people, and provide them with opportunities for testing, counseling, support, and information,” said Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, who urged her fellow Republicans to support the bill.

Studies have shown that people with HIV often go undetected and untreated even when they are receiving medical care for other diseases.

Even as recently as 2004, 39 percent of HIV patients were unaware of their status until they were less than a year away from being diagnosed with full-blown AIDS.

“Too many people learn of their HIV status when they present themselves to a health care provider due to an illness, often too late to fully benefit from treatment,” said Joseph Terrill, public policy coordinator for AIDS Healthcare Foundation, co-sponsor of the bill.

“AB 682 will ensure more Californians get access to care and treatment, and interrupt their unwitting exposure of others,” Terrill added.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that more than one million Americans are living with HIV, but nearly 250,000 don’t know it. In California, the State Office of AIDS estimates that about 40,000 Californians don’t know they are carrying the virus.

"AB 682 strikes an important balance between protecting the rights of individual patients while removing outdated barriers to routine screening that will help us find those with undiagnosed HIV infection," said Anmol Mahal, MD, president of the California Medical Association, a co-sponsor of the bill. "The State Legislature should be strongly commended for overwhelmingly passing this practical, life-saving legislation.”

The bill has received tremendous support from statewide AIDS groups, doctors and public health officers in California. It received bipartisan support throughout the legislative process.

It now needs the governor’s signature to become law.

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