Your HEALTHmatters

Regular exercise may help you feel better, sleep better, keep a healthy weight and more! To help you reach your health and fitness goals, a YMCA membership is offered to CareAdvantage members at no cost. The membership includes access to:

• YMCA locations throughout San Mateo / Santa Clara Counties and San Francisco.
• Locations may include exercise equipment, basketball courts, indoor or outdoor fitness studios, and indoor or outdoor swimming pools.
• More than 600 in-person and online group exercise classes led by certified instructors in yoga, Pilates, Zumba, cycling, aqua fitness and more.
• In-person and online wellness coaching to help you meet your health goals.

To get your YMCA Membership either:

• Visit a YMCA location near you and show your HPSM CareAdvantage member ID card.
• Sign up online. Choose a YMCA location near you and click the “enroll today” link.

YMCA locations in and closest to San Mateo County include:

Stonestown Family YMCA
415-242-7100
333 Eucalyptus Dr. San Francisco, CA 94132

Peninsula Family YMCA
650-286-9622
1877 S. Grant St. San Mateo, CA 94402

Sequoia YMCA
650-368-4168
1445 Hudson Street, Redwood City, 94061

Palo Alto Family YMCA
650-856-9622
3412 Ross Road, Palo Alto, 94303

Lewis & Joan Platt East Palo Alto Family YMCA
650-328-9622
550 Bell Street, East Palo Alto, 94303

Talk to your primary care provider about any changes you may want to make to your exercise routine.

It is important to take your child to their primary care provider (PCP) for regular check-ups, even if your child seems healthy. These no-cost well-visits allow the PCP to check your child’s health and address health concerns early on.

During a well-child visit, the PCP will:

• Examine your child’s body.
• Give your child vaccines they are due for.
• Track growth and development (weight, height and how your child plays, learns, speaks, acts and moves).
• Do screenings based on your child’s age (hearing, vision and/or potential lead exposure).
• Share advice on healthy eating, keeping your child’s gums and teeth healthy, sleep and safety.
• Talk about health concerns and work with you to make a plan to address them.
• Refer your child to specialists if needed.

Tips to get the most out of well-child visits:

Bring a list of questions/concerns, such as:

• Is my child at a healthy weight?
• Does my child need any screenings or vaccines?
• How much screen time is okay for my child?
• I noticed my child often does ___: is this typical for their age?

Bring any information you think your child’s PCP should be aware of, such as:

• Your child’s vaccination record.
• Any after-visit summaries from recent urgent care, emergency room or hospital visits.

Children under three years old should have check-ups at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 and 30 months.

Schedule your child’s next well-visit before you leave the PCP’s office. Ask for a reminder card and put the visit date in your calendar.

A balanced, nutritious diet is vital to your health — which makes CalFresh vital to our community. This program helps those who need the extra money to buy all the food they need to be healthy. Funds are given on an Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) card to use at grocery stores, supermarkets and farmers markets. The amount people get is based on their household size, income and monthly expenses. 

If you need extra help paying for food, apply to CalFresh 

Around 34,000 San Mateo County residents get CalFresh benefits, including nearly 11,000 children. 

May is CalFresh Awareness Month, and we’re joining other San Mateo County groups in encouraging people to apply for CalFresh benefits. Those who qualify may even be able to double their CalFresh benefits when shopping at farmers markets by also applying for the Market Match program when applying for CalFresh. 

Three ways to learn more about CalFresh and apply for benefits

• Meet CalFresh outreach teams at community events across San Mateo County throughout May.
• Visit the BenefitsCal website.
• Call the Human Services Agency Service Center at 1-800-223-8383 Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.