BILL NUMBER: ACR 69	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	ADOPTED IN SENATE  JUNE 22, 2015
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Chávez
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker,
Bigelow, Bonilla, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chiu,
Chu, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth
Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson,
Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez,
Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Steinorth, Mark
Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, and
Wood)

                        MAY 12, 2015

   Relative to Health Care District Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 69, Chávez. Health Care District Month.
   This measure would recognize the essential role that health care
districts have in the State of California and would proclaim the
month of May 2015 as Health Care District Month in California.




   WHEREAS, Health care districts are public entities that provide
community-based health care services to residents throughout the
state; and
   WHEREAS, Health care districts were created after World War II to
address a shortage of access to acute hospital care for many areas of
the state, particularly the rural areas of California; and
   WHEREAS, The first health care district was formed in 1946 and the
first district hospital opened in 1947. Today, there are 78 health
care districts in California, and 40 health care districts currently
operate 43 district hospitals. Their primary mission has not changed,
which is to provide health care services to the communities that
created them; and
   WHEREAS, District hospitals account for 27 of the state's rural
hospitals and 20 of the state's critical access hospitals; and
   WHEREAS, District hospitals provided $54 million in charity care
in 2012, and offered financial support to community programs focused
on the health and well-being of the children and adults living in the
health care districts; and
   WHEREAS, Fifty health care districts operate in either a health
professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a
medically underserved population area; and
   WHEREAS, Health care districts collectively provide a wide range
of services, which include acute care, emergency care, skilled
nursing and long-term care, community and rural health clinics,
ambulance services, adult day care, senior housing and nutritional
support, chronic disease management, health education, medical
transportation, home health, and hospice; and
   WHEREAS, Health care districts cover 49,354 square miles, provide
services in 40 counties, employ over 32,000 employees, and handle
more than 4,000,000 patient visits annually; and
   WHEREAS, Health care districts are formed by the will of the
people, with board members locally elected and accountable to their
communities. The health care districts are often supported in part by
local tax dollars in order to improve community health; and
   WHEREAS, Health care districts serve as an integral part of the
"safety net" for the state's underinsured and uninsured residents. In
2012, health care districts treated just over one million Medi-Cal
beneficiaries, which represents 10 percent of the statewide total of
Medi-Cal beneficiaries; and
   WHEREAS, Each health care district is uniquely focused on the
specific needs of the community it serves. Health care districts
utilize varying revenue streams, workforce sizes, services offered,
and geographic locations to cater to the health services most needed
by their communities; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the essential
role that health care districts have in the State of California and
proclaims the month of May 2015 as Health Care District Month in
California; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.