Beach Cities Health District
Encyclopedia
Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) is a government agency dedicated to providing preventive health services to the community. Formed in 1955, it is the special-purpose district
responsible for the improving the health of the citizens of Hermosa Beach
, Manhattan Beach
, and Redondo Beach
. The main office of the BCHD is located in the city of Redondo Beach
, California
; its primary youth fitness facility is located in the city of Manhattan Beach
.
The purpose of Health Districts in California is to provide health facilities or health services for the benefit of the district and the people served by that district. As a government agency, a health district has the power to exercise the right of eminent domain , secure financing through assessment of tax levy, and issue bonds.
The structure of the management and coordination of district services is:
BCHD is a government agency, but according to the most recent audited financials, "80% of the District's services were financed with funding sources other than taxes." Total revenues of the District are $10.8 million. About 19% of BCHD’s funding is derived from property taxes, 24% from fees derived from user fees for health-related services such as fitness
classes and the balance from other sources such as property leases (16%), interest (24%) and partnerships (15%). Total assets of the District are $84.5 million and total liabilities of the District are $8.8 million. It has $32.0 million in cash and investments.
According to the current year's budget message, the District had not had positive cash flow in nine of the most recent ten years and despite economic pressures of real estate and interest rates is budgeting a positive cashflow for the second year of a turnaround.
, nutrition education, childhood obesity prevention, counseling for substance abuse
, social skills and drop-out intervention for school-age children. Programs are aimed at educating children and their parents about healthy lifestyle choices. Youth Services also oversees AdventurePlex, BCHD’s children’s fitness center in Manhattan Beach.
, created for youth that bridges fitness with recreation. The facility has a four-level indoor play structure with tunnels and slides, two outdoor rock climbing walls, an outdoor ropes course, a sports court, and a gym for kids and parents. AdventurePlex provides classes such as karate, dance, volleyball, and day- and week-long camps during weeks that schools are out such as summertime, spring break and Christmas break.
and Automated external defibrillator (AED)
training, health screenings, support groups and education
classes for health professionals. It also promotes health and preventive care to the beach cities through community campaigns and by helping residents find needed services.
facility. The Center has a 17000 sq ft (1,579.4 m²). gym
with cardio and weight equipment, certified personal trainers, group exercise classes, child care, massage, nutritional counseling, yoga classes, T'ai chi for Arthritis
and locker rooms. The Center serves people of all ages and physical conditions with a large senior constituency. All instructors hold a college degree in a health-related discipline, and/or are certified by the American College of Sports Medicine
, National Academy of Sports Medicine
and National Strength and Conditioning Association..
focuses on integration of the entire body, strengthening the abdomen, hips and lower back. The Center for Pilates and Movement Therapy offers classes including Mat, Reformer, Feldenkrais
, Gyrokenisis, Arthritis Foundation
Exercise and Prenatal Pilates.
consultations through a registered dietitian specializing in preventive approaches to chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes, hypertension
, elevated blood lipid and adult, teenage and child obesity
.
and maintain the independence of older and disabled beach cities residents. These include home visits and assessments, links to health and community services and advocacy, ongoing contact and care plans, fitness and wellness programs, support services including peer counseling, a friend to friend program, errand volunteers, general support groups and educational programs on age-related issues.
Special-purpose district
Special-purpose districts or special district governments in the United States are independent governmental units that exist separately from, and with substantial administrative and fiscal independence from, general purpose local governments such as county, municipal, and township governments. As...
responsible for the improving the health of the citizens of Hermosa Beach
Hermosa Beach, California
Hermosa Beach is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,506 at the 2010 census, up from 18,566 at the 2000 census....
, Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
, and Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
. The main office of the BCHD is located in the city of Redondo Beach
Redondo Beach, California
Redondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
; its primary youth fitness facility is located in the city of Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
.
The purpose of Health Districts in California is to provide health facilities or health services for the benefit of the district and the people served by that district. As a government agency, a health district has the power to exercise the right of eminent domain , secure financing through assessment of tax levy, and issue bonds.
History
Health care districts were founded in California during the late 1940s in response to a lack of medical services in rural areas. State legislature passed the “Local Health Care District Law” authorizing communities to form special districts that built and operated hospitals and health care facilities. Los Angeles County formed the District to build and operate the South Bay Hospital. In 1998 the hospital ceased to operate as a hospital since nearby Little Company of Mary Hospital and Torrance Memorial hospitals served the community more than adequately.Organization
The BCHD has a governing board of 5 members, elected by the voters of the three beach cities. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of BCHD reports to the Governing Board and the following departments report to the CEO:The structure of the management and coordination of district services is:
| Office | Officeholder |
|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer | Susan Burden |
| Chief Financial Officer | Steve Groom |
| Chief Medical Officer | Lisa Santora, M.D. Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools... |
| Chief Resources Officer | Jackie Berling |
Administrative departments
- Executive and Administration
- Accounting, TreasuryTreasuryA treasury is either*A government department related to finance and taxation.*A place where currency or precious items is/are kept....
, Information SystemsInformation systemsInformation Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
and FacilitiesMedical facilityA medical facility is, in general, any location at which medicine is practiced regularly. Medical facilities range from small clinics and doctor's offices to urgent care centers and large hospitals with elaborate emergency rooms and trauma centers. The number and quality of medical facilities in a... - Human ResourcesHuman resourcesHuman resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
and Risk ManagementRisk managementRisk management is the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to minimize, monitor, and control the probability and/or impact of unfortunate events or to maximize the realization of opportunities...
Operational departments
- Youth Services
- AdventurePlex
- School Health Physical EducationPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
and NutritionNutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
- Adult Services
- Center for Health and Fitness - a medically-oriented gym and classes
- Health Education
- Health Information and Emergency Preparedness
- Senior Services
- Peer Counseling and Support Groups
- Volunteer Management
- Case Management and In-home care assessment
Funding
According to the district’s most recent audited financials, the District’s various funds had $10.8 million in Revenues, $12.1 million in expenditures, $84.5 million in total assets, $2.4 million in total liabilities, and $32.0 million in cash and investments.BCHD is a government agency, but according to the most recent audited financials, "80% of the District's services were financed with funding sources other than taxes." Total revenues of the District are $10.8 million. About 19% of BCHD’s funding is derived from property taxes, 24% from fees derived from user fees for health-related services such as fitness
Physical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
classes and the balance from other sources such as property leases (16%), interest (24%) and partnerships (15%). Total assets of the District are $84.5 million and total liabilities of the District are $8.8 million. It has $32.0 million in cash and investments.
According to the current year's budget message, the District had not had positive cash flow in nine of the most recent ten years and despite economic pressures of real estate and interest rates is budgeting a positive cashflow for the second year of a turnaround.
Youth Services
BCHD offers provides programs and supports funding for physical educationPhysical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, nutrition education, childhood obesity prevention, counseling for substance abuse
Substance abuse
A substance-related disorder is an umbrella term used to describe several different conditions associated with several different substances .A substance related disorder is a condition in which an individual uses or abuses a...
, social skills and drop-out intervention for school-age children. Programs are aimed at educating children and their parents about healthy lifestyle choices. Youth Services also oversees AdventurePlex, BCHD’s children’s fitness center in Manhattan Beach.
AdventurePlex
AdventurePlex is BCHD’s fitness center for kids and families, a health and fitness center in Manhattan BeachManhattan Beach, California
Manhattan Beach is the wealthiest beachfront city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, USA. The city is on the Pacific coast, south of El Segundo, and north of Hermosa Beach. Manhattan Beach is the home of both beach and indoor volleyball, and surfing. During the winter, the...
, created for youth that bridges fitness with recreation. The facility has a four-level indoor play structure with tunnels and slides, two outdoor rock climbing walls, an outdoor ropes course, a sports court, and a gym for kids and parents. AdventurePlex provides classes such as karate, dance, volleyball, and day- and week-long camps during weeks that schools are out such as summertime, spring break and Christmas break.
School Health Services
School Health Services provides a variety of physical, mental and social health programs for children in the beach cities public schools. Services provided include health education for elementary students; physical education for children kindergarten through sixth grade; lifeskills and substance abuse education for middle school students; and obesity prevention education at the elementary level.Adult Services
Adult Services focuses on improving the health and wellness of adults who reside in the beach cities through fitness classes, health screenings, wellness classes, support groups and educational programs.Health Education
BCHD offers wellness classes, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation is an emergency procedure which is performed in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person in cardiac arrest. It is indicated in those who are unresponsive...
and Automated external defibrillator (AED)
Automated external defibrillator
An automated external defibrillator or AED is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient, and is able to treat them through defibrillation, the application of...
training, health screenings, support groups and education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
classes for health professionals. It also promotes health and preventive care to the beach cities through community campaigns and by helping residents find needed services.
Center for Health and Fitness
The Center for Health and Fitness is a medically-based fitnessPhysical fitness
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
facility. The Center has a 17000 sq ft (1,579.4 m²). gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
with cardio and weight equipment, certified personal trainers, group exercise classes, child care, massage, nutritional counseling, yoga classes, T'ai chi for Arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
and locker rooms. The Center serves people of all ages and physical conditions with a large senior constituency. All instructors hold a college degree in a health-related discipline, and/or are certified by the American College of Sports Medicine
American College of Sports Medicine
The American College of Sports Medicine is the largest sports medicine and exercise science organization in the world. More than 40,000 international, national and regional members and certified professionals are dedicated to advancing and integrating scientific research to provide educational and...
, National Academy of Sports Medicine
National Academy of Sports Medicine
The National Academy of Sports Medicine sells study courses and examinations for personal trainer certification and funds fitness research and education. NASM was founded in Chicago, Illinois, USA in 1987. NASM develops continuing education in the form of study courses for professional athletic...
and National Strength and Conditioning Association..
Center for Pilates and Movement Therapy
PilatesPilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany, the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States....
focuses on integration of the entire body, strengthening the abdomen, hips and lower back. The Center for Pilates and Movement Therapy offers classes including Mat, Reformer, Feldenkrais
Feldenkrais method
The Feldenkrais Method is a somatic educational system designed by Moshé Feldenkrais . The Feldenkrais method aims to improve movement repertoire, aiming to expand and refine the use of the self through awareness, in order to reduce pain or limitations in movement, and promote general well-being...
, Gyrokenisis, Arthritis Foundation
Arthritis Foundation
The Arthritis Foundation is the largest national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to the prevention, control and cure of arthritis, the leading cause of disability in the United States....
Exercise and Prenatal Pilates.
Nutrition
Beach Cities Health District offers nutritionNutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
consultations through a registered dietitian specializing in preventive approaches to chronic degenerative diseases such as diabetes, hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
, elevated blood lipid and adult, teenage and child obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
.
Senior Services
Senior Services provides services to improve the quality of lifeQuality of life
The term quality of life is used to evaluate the general well-being of individuals and societies. The term is used in a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, and politics. Quality of life should not be confused with the concept of standard of...
and maintain the independence of older and disabled beach cities residents. These include home visits and assessments, links to health and community services and advocacy, ongoing contact and care plans, fitness and wellness programs, support services including peer counseling, a friend to friend program, errand volunteers, general support groups and educational programs on age-related issues.
See also
- Beach CitiesBeach CitiesThe term Beach Cities refers to both a region of California located in Los Angeles County along the Santa Monica Bay coastline as well as a smaller group of cities located therein the region...
- Behavioral medicineBehavioral medicineBehavioral medicine is an interdisciplinary field of medicine concerned with the development and integration of knowledge in the biological, behavioral, psychological, and social sciences relevant to health and illness...
- Community healthCommunity healthCommunity health, a field of public health, is a discipline that concerns itself with the study and betterment of the health characteristics of biological communities. While the term community can be broadly defined, community health tends to focus on geographic areas rather than people with shared...
- HealthHealthHealth is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain...
- Health careHealth careHealth care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
- Health care delivery
- Health economicsHealth economicsHealth economics is a branch of economics concerned with issues related to efficiency, effectiveness, value and behavior in the production and consumption of health and health care...
- Health educationHealth educationHealth education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
- Health literacyHealth literacyHealth literacy is an individual's ability to read, understand and use healthcare information to make decisions and follow instructions for treatment...
- Health policy
- Health professionHealth professionThe health care industry, or medical industry, is the sector of the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, palliative, or, at times, unnecessary care...
- Health promotionHealth promotionHealth promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
- HygieneHygieneHygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in modern medical sciences there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between...
- KinesiotherapyKinesiotherapyKinesiotherapy is the application of scientifically based exercise principles adapted to enhance the strength, endurance, and mobility of individuals with functional limitations of those requiring extended physical conditioning.- Occupational description :...
- List of California Health Districts
- Mental healthMental healthMental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
- National Response PlanNational Response PlanThe National Response Plan was a United States national plan to respond to emergencies such as natural disasters or terrorist attacks. It came into effect in December 2004 , and was superseded by the National Response Framework on March 22, 2008....
- NutritionNutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
- Population healthPopulation healthPopulation health has been defined as “the health outcomes of a group of individuals, including the distribution of such outcomes within the group.” It is an approach to health that aims to improve the health of an entire population. One major step in achieving this aim is to reduce health...
- Preventive medicinePreventive medicinePreventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
- Public healthPublic healthPublic health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
- Public health lawPublic health lawLaw is an important public health tool that plays a critical role in reducing illness and premature death. Public health law examines the authority of the government at various jurisdictional levels to improve the health of the general population within societal limits and norms.Public health law...