Affordable Care Act Forum to Clarify Obamacare


On Thursday, March 6, families, residents, community leaders and health service providers will gather at Jesse Owens Park in South Los Angeles to learn more about the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare”, and how it can benefit families across the Second Supervisorial District. The forum comes one week before the next enrollment deadline of March 15. According to Covered California, residents who enroll by March 15 are eligible for coverage beginning April 1.

On February 19, the California Department of Health Care Services announced that more than 1.6 million California residents have had (one tense per sentence) signed up for either Covered California health insurance plans or for low-cost or no-cost Medical as of January 31. The same announcement concludes that, currently, African Americans have among the lowest rate of enrollment in California.

Some months back, we took to the streets to ask you for your thoughts about Obamacare. The resulting video is posted below and highlights your thoughts:

While some were excited about Obamacare and others had concerns, one theme became clear – more information is necessary.

“Many people, understandably, have been a bit confused about the Affordable Care Act,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “But forums like these help to dissolve myths and explain the benefits Obamacare can deliver.”

The March 6 forum is the next in a series of Second District Obamacare forums that began last year. A half-hour video from the first forum on December 5, 2013 is provided below:

The Affordable Care Act has the opportunity to be a lifeline for 1.7 million uninsured people in Los Angeles County. In fact, according to some studies, the Affordable Care Act can help 7 out of every 10 uninsured people in the county.

Join us on March 6 to find out if you or someone you know might benefit from the healthcare coverage under the ACA.

Click here to download a flyer for the March 6, 2014 Affordable Care Act Forum.

Can Housing L.A. County’s Homeless Families Save Money?


In Los Angeles County, 7,391 families struggle nightly to find a way to survive without shelter. In 2010, several agencies began to develop a regional approach to providing not just housing, but supportive services and need-based assistance to better help homeless families regain stability. In some cases, mental health and substance abuse services, or housing assistance made the difference.

The Family Solutions Centers started last March with $3.7 million in city and county funding, with the goal of rapidly rehousing homeless households and offering centers throughout Los Angeles County where homeless can go to have problems professionally assessed. To date, there are seven lead agencies that host Family Solution Centers in six of the eight service planning areas in Los Angeles County. These Family Solutions can direct families to health services, employment assistance services, rental assistance or emergency housing. And the program has already proven to be successful, having seen 1,542 families between March and December. Three hundred and two of those families were able to avoid homelessness, 305 were placed in interim housing, and 417 were provided permanent housing.

On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved an additional $10.2 million to set up more Family Solution Centers to offer more services. An additional $2.4 million is also being considered for mental health services. The centers will extend to at least eight agencies and promises to service all eight service planning areas in Los Angeles County. The services will be expanded to include social service case managers and substance abuse treatment. The expanded program will promote collaboration between public agencies and homeless service providers and be called the Homeless Family Solutions System. The system also includes the collection of data to assess which programs are working and to track long term success with families.

“Families are the core of our community,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. “And today we have the opportunity to improve the way we deliver services to those families most in need.”

Christine Mirasy-Glasco, executive director of Upward Bound House, a community-based social service agency, testified before Board of Supervisors Tuesday in support of expanding Family Solutions Centers. The centers, she said, have streamlined the process of getting help for families. “Families used to have to travel around the entire county every day looking for services,” Mirasy-Glasco said. “This changes all of that.”

A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that 85 percent of homeless people in Philadelphia who were given housing and support were still in housing two years later and were unlikely to become homeless again.
Research shows that people spend less time in expensive emergency rooms and hospital beds when they have housing. Children are able to attend school and do homework when they have a warm home, a bed to sleep in and a sturdy table to write on.

“It is a proven program. It works. And it’s been evaluated,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina.

Supervisor Ridley-Thomas added, “Without question, supporting homeless families with services and housing saves money in the long run. It simply costs less to serve and house than it does to ignore. It’s an investment in our future.”

Click here for more information about Family Service Centers.

Los Angeles County Combats the Flu

Do you have a tickle in your throat? Is someone nearby sneezing? What you may be noticing are not a run-of-the-mill cold, but the first symptoms of the flu.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is offering free flu vaccinations at its public health centers throughout Los Angeles County, with no appointment necessary, and many local community clinics and pharmacies in the Second Supervisorial District and across the county are offering seasonal flu vaccines for a low fee.

County Department of Public Health Director Dr. Jonathon E. Fielding urges flu vaccinations as soon as possible for all adults and children above six months of age. Flu strains change every year, making it important to get vaccinated once a year. There are two ways to be vaccinated, either through the influenza shot or nasal spray. In order to be protected from the flu with the nasal spray, one has to be a healthy non-pregnant individual between the ages 2-49.

While all people can contract influenza, medical research shows that some age groups are at greater risk of developing complications. Children under age five and adults above 50 years of age have been shown to have a greater risk of complications, studies say. Pregnancy, a compromised immune system and chronic medical conditions can also increase the risk of complications from the flu.

“Health is our priority,” says Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who encourages appropriate steps to prevention.

The common flu is highly contagious and effective ways to protect yourself and your loved ones include covering your mouth when sneezing and washing your hands before eating and after using the restroom. Additionally, if flu-like symptoms appear it is recommended that you drink fluids, stay home at least 24 hours and use over-the-counter medications.

This year has been particularly difficult; according to California state health officials, there have been 202 confirmed influenza deaths in individuals below age 65, including 26 deaths in Los Angeles County alone. In fact, this flu season is responsible for more deaths than any season in recent years. At this time in 2013, only 18 Californians below the age of 65 had died from the flu and only 106 people had died for the entire 2012-2013 season.

Click here, to find locations where flu vaccinations are currently available or call the LA County Information Line at 2-1-1 from any landline or cell phone in the county.

For health education materials including kid-friendly handouts, click here.

New Surgical Building Inaugurated at Harbor-UCLA

Walking through the gleaming new hallways, inspecting the state of the art equipment and monitors of the new emergency/trauma and surgery building at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in January,  Dr. Timothy Van Natta could not stop smiling. As the interim chief medical officer of the hospital, he remembers the challenges of performing heart surgery or operating on a gunshot wound in the cramped spaces and dated linoleum-lined rooms of the old hospital, built in 1963.

In April, however, his entire staff will be working in the new facility, which was constructed and finished on time and $10 million under budget. The expansive 190,000 square-foot facility features separate adult and pediatric emergency departments with a total of 80 treatment rooms, seven trauma resuscitation rooms, 16 operating rooms, and pre- and post-operative patient areas — significantly more than the capacity of the older facility.

“The people of the county who receive their healthcare here are going to have a much, much better experience than they have had in the past,” said Van Natta, noting that the ER has approximately 80,000 visits per year.

The new building also has a radiological suite that includes x-ray, ultrasound and CT technology housed directly in the ER so patients do not have to be transported across the hospital for diagnostic tests. The new facility forms one part of a larger, more holistic approach to healthcare that emphasizes prevention. With the Affordable Care Act, patients have more choices, so county facilities had to keep up to be competitive, noted Delvecchio Finley, chief executive officer of the hospital.

“For a long time county facilities have always been competitive on quality of care…but where we struggled a little bit was on the service side…Buildings like this, really provide a healthcare experience that complements the quality of care,” said Finley. Lastly, he noted that part of having a better patient experience includes aesthetics, so the new hospital has a vast collection of donated art hanging from its walls that is both soothing and pleasing to the eye.

The new hospital which was under construction for three years, has long been a priority for Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who represents the district where the hospital is located.

“This is a commitment on the part of the County of Los Angeles to deliver high quality emergency and trauma care in this new health care reform era,” the supervisor told a crowd of more than a hundred physicians, nurses, hospital staff and elected officials on the inauguration day. “This is a day to celebrate.”

For some patients, the new hospital is just the icing on an institution that already had excellent patient care. In December 2012, Richard Williams’ 13-year-old son Ricky was stabbed in the heart. Doctors gently warned Williams that it would be touch and go, but after several hours of surgery, Ricky was saved.

“This new building means a lot to me,” said Williams. “It signifies not only new technology, but also how many other families will be saved here.”