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May 1, 2013
An excessive heat advisory has been issued for San Francisco. Keep cool, drink lots of water, and avoid physical activity as much as possible. Educate your elderly friends or relatives about the symptoms of heat illness and contact someone immediately if they start to feel unwell. To be prepared:
For more information, see this Frequently Asked Questions document or call 311. Dial 911 if it's an emergency.
April 12, 2013
Mayor Ed Lee announced the release of the San Francisco Pedestrian Strategy today! The Pedestrian Strategy follows the 2010 Pedestrian Safety Executive Directive which set a city goal of reducing serious and fatal pedestrian injuries by 25% by 2016 and by 50% by 2021. The Pedestrian Strategy provides a comprehensive set of actions and performance measures to make city streets more safe and walkable. Key actions in the strategy include:
To learn more and read the Pedestrian Strategy, click here.
April 5, 2013
Friday's National Public Health Week theme is "Empowering a Healthy Community."
What does a healthy city look like? San Francisco Department of Public Health's Environmental Health Section collaborated with over 20 diverse organizations to design the Sustainable Communities Index (SCI) an innovative tool that uses data to advance healthy communities. This tool has over 100+ indicators with geographically detailed maps to empower community members to advocate for better environments where they live, work, learn, and play. The SCI is also part of our Open Data initiative to make our community more informed, connected and create citizen innovation through government data.
April 4, 2013
Thursday's National Public Health Week theme is "Protecting You While You're on the Move."
Did you know that more than half of San Francisco's over 800 annual pedestrian injuries occur on only 5% of our City's streets? This San Francisco Department of Public Health's Environmental Health map was voted one of the best Open Data Releases of 2012. The San Francisco Pedestrian Strategy – soon to be released - prioritizes engineering and enforcement measures on high injury corridors with the goal of saving lives, in addition to potentially millions of dollars in healthcare costs.
April 3, 2013
Wednesday's National Public Health Week theme is "Creating a Healthy Workplace."
Wage theft is bad for health! A recent survey found 76% of restaurant workers did not receive overtime pay and 50% did not earn minimum wage. Partnering with local and state labor enforcement agencies and local worker centers, San Francisco Department of Public Health's Environmental Health Section has suspended health permits of employers found guilty of wage theft. Over the past two years, we have recover tens of thousands of dollars in back wages owed to SF restaurant employees. For more information, visit our website.
April 2, 2013
Tuesday's National Public Health Week theme is "Providing a Safe Environment for Children at School."
Food in our schools defines lifelong children's eating habits and prepares them for learning. With a decade of seed funding and technical support from the San Francisco Department of Public Health's Environmental Health Section and a committed parent community, San Francisco has become a cutting edge urban school food environment, establishing strong food policies beginning in 2003, eliminating competitive foods in 2010, rolling out grab and go breakfast programs in most middle and high schools in 2011, and in 2012 deciding to source lunches from a local company, Revolution Foods, who specialize in freshly prepared food from sustainable, local sources. For more information, see the districts newsletter and our website.
April 1, 2013
Today kicks off National Public Health Week! National Public Health Week is a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation. This year's focus is "Public Health is ROI: Save Lives, Save Money." Monday's theme is "Ensuring a Safe, Healthy Home."
Did you know nearly six million households live with housing problems which negatively impact health? Children are most severely affected suffering from asthma hospitalization, injuries and lead poisoning. San Francisco's Children's Environmental Health Promotion Program (CEHP) has been proactively addressing this health issue by offering housing assessments to improve conditions for families. We plan to see return on investment through a reduction in medical bills, energy costs and lost wages. CEHP completed its pilot program in 2010 and is launching a second program based on overwhelming need. For more information see our 2010 report and our website.
March 27, 2013
Restaurant inspection scores are officially live on Yelp in San Francisco! Inspection data is collected directly from the San Francisco Department of Public Health's Environmental Health program and updated on a regular basis. Check out the inspection history for your favorite (or least favorite) San Francisco restaurant at: www.yelp.com.
Including restaurant inspection scores on Yelp is part of a larger effort by San Francisco to make government data more accessible and is the result of a collaboration with New York City and Yelp to develop a national standard and protocol for sharing restaurant inspection data. For more information on this effort, click here.
December 19, 2012
The California Homemade Food Act (AB1616), also known as the Cottage Food Act, goes into effect on January 1, 2013. This law allows small food businesses that produce "low-risk foods" (such as bake goods, candies, jam/jellies, desserts, and nuts) to operate out of a private home with limited regulatory oversight, as long as certain criteria are met. For more information, click here.
December 18, 2012
The On-Site Water Reuse for Commercial, Multi-Family, and Mixed-Use Developments ordinance authorizes the San Francisco Department of Public Health to issue rules and regulations regarding the operation of alternate water source systems. These draft rules and regulations were released on December 17, 2012 and will be available for review and comment until January 28, 2013.
Comments should be delivered by January 28, 2013 by postal mail or email directed to:
June M. Weintraub, ScD
Senior Epidemiologist, Environmental Health Section
City and County of San Francisco Department of Public Health
1390 Market St, Ste 210
San Francisco CA 94102
email: June.Weintraub@sfdph.org
June 14, 2012
The newly revised Director's Rules and Regulations for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs will be effective on July 1, 2012. Consult our Bed Bug page to view the Rules and resources that can help property owners and managers be in compliance.