BILL NUMBER: ACR 169	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Dahle

                        APRIL 13, 2016

   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.