Second Harvest CEO Retiring • Dignity, Anthem Talks Break Down Anthem, Sutter Health Extend Contract

CASA CARES ABOUT BEING THERE. NO MATTER WHAT.

Join us for an online information meeting to learn more about how you can be there for a child in foster care. All it takes is 2 hours a week to make a lifetime of an impact.

CASAOFSANTACRUZ.ORG/SIGNUP 831.761.2956

COMMUNITY NEWS Second Harvest CEO Retiring

On July 22, Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County announced CEO Willy Elliott-McCrea will retire next June.

The board of directors has started the process to hire his successor and build on his legacy.

His retirement will coincide with the food bank’s 50th anniversary, and a big shindig is planned to celebrate both.

Elliott-McCrea, 68, of Soquel, has been the Food Bank’s leader for more than 30 years, making many significant contributions during floods, fires and a global pandemic.

After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Second Harvest was ground zero for disaster relief (epicenter was five miles from the warehouse) –scaling services six-fold for the first month and doubled after.

Building a strong network of partners from every sector of the community, Second Harvest has consistently ranked in the top two percent of healthiest food banks in America, with more than 60% of food distributed being fresh fruits and vegetables.

As founding president of California Associ-

ation of Food Banks from 1995-98, Elliott-McCrea shaped the future of food banks across the state. Most recently, he led the Food Bank through COVID-19 and the devastating CZU fire. His experience led him to reach out to U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta as soon as shelter-in-place was ordered, prompting Congress and the Governor to deploy the National Guard across California food banks to keep services going. Since the pandemic began, Second Harvest has seen need for food double — and met that need. Second Harvest worked with not only the National Guard but also County Emergency Services, Twin Lakes Church, County Fairgrounds, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Community Willy Elliott-McCrea Foundation Santa Cruz County, local school districts and many others to provide fresh and healthy food to the community. As Santa Cruz County slowly recovers from the economic devastation of the pandemic and fires, the food bank is distributing 65% more food than before. Elliott-McCrea began his food banking career in 1978 as a warehouse manager and driver. n

Dignity, Anthem Talks Break Down

Editor’s note: People with Anthem health insurance who see doctors at Dignity Health and Dominican Hospital are caught in the middle as talks on a new contract broke down mid-July. How are you affected? Email Editor Jondi Gumz at info@cyber-times.com. Put Anthem-Dignity in the subject line. Each side put out statements, appearing here in abbreviated fashion. •••

Robert Quinn, MD, president/CEO,

Dignity Health Medical Foundation

Dignity Health and Anthem Blue Cross have been negotiating new contracts in good faith for six months. Despite our collective efforts, most of Dignity Health’s California agreements with Anthem terminated as of July 16.

“We remain in active discussions and hope to reach a responsible new agreement soon that will protect patients’ access to the care they need.

“Dignity/Anthem Split” page 18

Anthem, Sutter Health Extend Contract

Anthem and Sutter Health have reached agreement on a multi-year extension to their previous contract, set to expire in 18 months. This provides Anthem members with continued innetwork access to Sutter facilities through Dec. 31, 2024.

“We are pleased to continue working with Sutter to make healthcare simpler and more accessible,” said John Pickett, Anthem’s regional vice president of provider solutions. “We value the relationships we have with the providers in our network, which are important to creating choices for ourconsumersandfulfilling our mission of improving the lives of the people in the communities we serve.”

“We are pleased to partner with Anthem in their expanded portfolio of networks and products as it will give our Sutter patients stability and access to our integrated network for years to come,” said Grace Davis, Sutter’s chief public affairs officer.

This agreement applies to Anthem Blue Cross consumers enrolled in MediCal, HMO and PPO plans. n