California Teen Birth Rate Increases First Time In 15 Years, Report Says

California’s teen birth rate in 2006 increased for the first time in 15 years, costing state taxpayers $1.7 billion annually, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Oakland, Calif.-based Public Health Institute, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

According to the report, there were 37.8 births per 1,000 teen girls in the state in 2006, compared with 37.2 births per 1,000 teens in 2005 (Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/21). The total number of teen births in the state increased to 52,770 in 2006 from 50,433 in 2004 (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 5/21). The report examined teen births for 15 to 19 year olds, the standard age group reported to the state Department of Public Health and other government agencies, according to study author Norman Constantine, a clinical professor of public health at the University of California-Berkeley (Walker, Orange County Register, 5/20).

California’s 2006 teen birth rate still is below the national average of 41.9 births per 1,000 teens and is significantly lower than the state’s peak of 70.9 births per 1,000 teens in 1991. However, births to teenage parents are “placing a significant burden” on state taxpayers, the Chronicle reports. To calculate the annual costs to taxpayers, Constantine used a model that analyzed factors — including loss of tax revenue based on the teenage parents’ reduced income, costs for increased placement in foster care, and increased reliance on public assistance, such as welfare and the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. The model also included loss of income for infants when they reach adulthood. The report found that lost income and private medical expenses resulting from infants born to teens cost their families more than $3,000 annually. In addition, each infant cost state taxpayers about $2,500, the report found.

California Teen Birth Rate Increases First Time In 15 Years, Report Says

California’s teen birth rate in 2006 increased for the first time in 15 years, costing state taxpayers $1.7 billion annually, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Oakland, Calif.-based Public Health Institute, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

According to the report, there were 37.8 births per 1,000 teen girls in the state in 2006, compared with 37.2 births per 1,000 teens in 2005 (Allday, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/21). The total number of teen births in the state increased to 52,770 in 2006 from 50,433 in 2004 (Kisken, Ventura County Star, 5/21). The report examined teen births for 15 to 19 year olds, the standard age group reported to the state Department of Public Health and other government agencies, according to study author Norman Constantine, a clinical professor of public health at the University of California-Berkeley (Walker, Orange County Register, 5/20).

California’s 2006 teen birth rate still is below the national average of 41.9 births per 1,000 teens and is significantly lower than the state’s peak of 70.9 births per 1,000 teens in 1991. However, births to teenage parents are “placing a significant burden” on state taxpayers, the Chronicle reports. To calculate the annual costs to taxpayers, Constantine used a model that analyzed factors — including loss of tax revenue based on the teenage parents’ reduced income, costs for increased placement in foster care, and increased reliance on public assistance, such as welfare and the state’s Medicaid program, Medi-Cal. The model also included loss of income for infants when they reach adulthood. The report found that lost income and private medical expenses resulting from infants born to teens cost their families more than $3,000 annually. In addition, each infant cost state taxpayers about $2,500, the report found.

Community Hospital of Los Gatos and Tenet Healthcare Foundation Support American Heart Association’s Saving Strokes Event

Los Gatos, California – May 6, 2008 – Community Hospital of Los Gatos and Tenet Healthcare Foundation will sponsor the American Heart Association’s Saving Strokes Adapted Golf clinic with a $10,000.00 charitable contribution to help provide stroke awareness.

Saving Strokes is a program of the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association. It is a golf clinic for stroke survivors in all stages of recovery. Golf, along with many other types of physical activity, can be a driving force in the physical recovery of stroke victors, which is why the American Stroke Association, in partnership with local golf courses and the Northern California Professional Golfer’s Association, created Saving Strokes, a Golf Fitness and Training Program for Stroke Victors.

Saving Strokes empowers stroke victors by illustrating that disabilities need not stop them from playing – or learning – golf. Indeed golf can improve their strength and flexibility and provide a valuable social outlet for them and their caregiver. Working in conjunction with the local PGA and holding these events on community golf courses has created new venues for stroke awareness. As a result, local government entities have embraced the concept as part of their disabled sports strategy and widespread media attention has been created.

Community Hospital of Los Gatos’ Rehabilitation Center and the Tenet Healthcare Foundation will sponsor a local Saving Strokes Adapted Golf event May 7, 2008 hosted by Coyote Creek Golf Club in Morgan Hill, California. A group of professional golf instructors from various locations will be educated on the medical and physical therapy aspects of stroke recovery by a group of volunteers from the medical community.

When participants arrive, they will be individually evaluated by an occupational or physical therapist and then given 30 minutes of individual golf instruction. Adaptive golf equipment will be available as needed. Meanwhile, caregivers will have the opportunity to be pampered with massages in our Comfort Green area. Lunch follows with an inspirational guest speaker. “This Adapted Golf event is a great activity to promote networking among stroke survivors and their caregivers, as well as a therapeutic activity for physical balance and flexibility”, stated Linda Goshgarian, Occupational Therapist at Community Hospital’s Rehabilitation Center.

To learn more about a Saving Strokes event in Northern California, visit the American Heart Associations website at www.americanheart.org.

Community Hospital of Los Gatos, part of Tenet California, is a 143-bed acute care hospital located at 815 Pollard Road in Los Gatos. The hospital opened in 1962 and has become an integral part of the local community providing general and specialty medical services. With more than 725 employees and a medical staff of more than 600 physicians and allied health professionals, the Community Hospital of Los Gatos strives to meet the increasing needs of the community by focusing on key service lines like Orthopedics (includes spine, joint and sports medicine services), Women’s Health Services (The Family Birth Place and Growing Expectations), Rehabilitation Center Services, the Silicon Valley Urology Center, Physical Performance Institute, and various specialty programs. The hospital is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. To learn more about Community Hospital of Los Gatos visit