California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 169

Introduced by Assembly Member Dahle

April 13, 2016

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 169—Relative to Health Care District Month.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 169, as introduced, Dahle. Health Care District Month.

This measure would designate the month of May 2016 as Health Care District Month.

Fiscal committee: no.

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; and

WHEREAS, Today there are 78 health care districts in
California; 40 health care districts currently operate 43 district
hospitals; and

WHEREAS, Their primary mission has not changed, which is
to provide health services to the communities that created them;
and

WHEREAS, District hospitals make up 26 of the state’s rural
hospitals and 20 of the state’s critical access hospitals; and

WHEREAS, District hospitals provided $71 million in charity
care in 2013, offering financial support to community programs
focused on the health and well-being of the children and adults in
the districts; and

WHEREAS, Fifty health care districts operate in a health
professional shortage area, a medically underserved area, or a
medically underserved population; and

WHEREAS, Health care districts collectively provide the
following services: acute care, emergency care, skilled nursing or
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 of
the state, provide services in 40 counties, employ around 32,000
employees, and see more than 4,000,000 patient visits annually;
and

WHEREAS, Health care districts are formed by the will of the
people, with board members elected and accountable to their
communities. Health care districts are often supported in part by
local tax dollars to improve community health; and

WHEREAS, Health care districts serve as an integral part of
the safety net for the state’s underinsured or uninsured; and

WHEREAS, In 2013, health care districts treated approximately
1.4 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries, or 9 percent of the statewide
total; and

WHEREAS, Each health care district is uniquely focused on
the specific needs of the community it serves; and

WHEREAS, Health care districts utilize a varying revenue
stream, workforce size, 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 designates the month of
May 2016 as Health Care District Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.