Health & Human Services Day

Advisory Council Day Chairs Beth Miller of CommonSpirit Health and Mitchall Patel of Kern Behavioral Health & Recovery Services kicked off Leadership Bakersfield’s Health and Human Services day on Friday, Feb. 10.

The day started at Community Action Partnership of Kern (CAPK) Food Bank with Program Administrator Kelly Lowery and Agency Relations Coordinator Blaine Hodge, who spoke about food insecurity in our community. Kern County is known as the breadbasket of California, but it is also one of the top areas experiencing food hardship in America. The class was able to tour the Food Bank and understand how they distribute millions of pounds of food annually to hungry individuals, families, nonprofits, churches, community centers, homeless shelters and poverty-fighting agencies throughout Kern County.

From there, the class was able to hear from Chief Executive Officer Lauren Skidmore, Director of Client Services Ilene Parra and the team at The Open Door Network (formerly Bakersfield Homeless Center and Alliance Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault). The class saw the vision for the future campus and its goals to help our community's most vulnerable heal from trauma and reimagine their lives.

Lunch was hosted at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County and featured a conversation with Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (KernBHRS) Director Stacy Kuwahara, who shared insights into the history of mental health treatment in America and what KernBHRS is working on in Kern County.

Finally, the class spent the afternoon at Dignity Health Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, where the participants learned about the current state of health care challenges and opportunities according to President and CEO Ken Keller. The class then spent the afternoon in immersive experiences in which they were able to get a behind-the-scenes look at the daily operations of a large hospital.

Thank you to program underwriter Chevron and to the Leadership Bakersfield day sponsors Adventist Health and Dignity Health.

By Mitchall Patel Kern Behavioral Health & Recovery Services