Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

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Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health logo.png
Department overview
Formed July 6, 2006 (2006-07-06)
Preceding department
Jurisdiction Los Angeles County
Headquarters Los Angeles, California
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Employees 4 ,258 (2010)[1]
Annual budget US$893,000,000 (2012-2013)[2]
Department executive
  • Jeffrey D. Gunzenhauser, MD, MPH, Interim Health Officer and Medical Director
Parent department LA County Board of Supervisors
Website publichealth.lacounty.gov

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (Public Health) provides public health services to Los Angeles County residents. Dr. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser is the Interim Health Officer and Medical Director for Los Angeles County. Cynthia Harding, MPH, is the Interim Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. [3]

With a budget of 893 million dollars, Public Health has 39 programs and 14 public health centers to serve 10 million LA County residents. [4]

On March 27, 2014, former director Johnathan Fielding announced that he will retire from the department and go back to UCLA "to help train future health leaders and do research on how we can be even more effective."[5]

Public Health programs include:[6]

History

Until the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved the establishment of Public Health on May 30, 2006, public health functions were assumed by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.[7] the Department of Public Health was formally established on July 7, 2006.[7]

On May 10, 2013, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) submitted 70,000 signatures to qualify a City of Los Angeles ballot measure, the "City of Los Angeles Public Health Protection Act," on creating a separate Los Angeles City Public Health Department to be placed on the June 2014 ballot.[8] AHF claims that the Department of Public Health has fallen short in managing several public health issues, including tuberculosis and syphilis, accusing it of having a corrupt, bloated and inefficient bureaucracy.[9][8]

However, the Los Angeles City Council has opposed this proposal, as Los Angeles City has contracted for public health services with the County since 1964, as part of a consolidation effort to reduce duplication and improve efficiency of services, and the City's desire to transfer financial responsibility for public health services to the County tax base.[10][11][12][11]

The city is considering a lawsuit over the validity of the AHF-backed ballot initiative, as it does not have the necessary funds or expertise to effectively enforce public health laws.[13] The annual costs of operating an independent public health department would be roughly $261 million.[13] On September 17, 2013, the County Board of Supervisors also voted unanimously to oppose that ballot measure.[11] AHF is a longtime County contractor with a strained relationship to the County--an audit in August 2012 found that AHF had overbilled the Department of Public Health by more than $1.7 million.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ LA County, Annual Report 2012-2013, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 2012-2013
  3. ↑ Big Cities Health Coalition, Bios, Big Cities Health, July 27, 2015
  4. ↑ LA County, Annual Report 2012-2013, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 2012-2013
  5. ↑ Abby Sewell, Top L.A. County public health official announces he's retiring, Los Angeles Times, March 27, 2014
  6. ↑ LA County, Annual Report 2012-2013, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, 2012-2013
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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