Dr. Martha Koo, MD, Beach Cities Health District Board of Directors

03/07/2023

BCHD now has a Linktree! Linktree allows us to share what’s going on at the District with just one click. It can serve as another option to access weblinks and digital flyers as well as the webpage option on our social media pages. Go directly to our Linktree by visiting

Serving Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach since 1955.

01/26/2023

We are thrilled to announce that Allcove Beach Cities officially opened Saturday, Jan. 21. The center is a space for youth ages 12 to 25 years old to find a safe haven and mental health services and offers everything from job help to mental and physical health resources. To learn more, visit: Commission.

Allcove Beach Ciites, which officially opened Saturday, Jan. 21, is a space for youth to find a safe haven and mental health services.

07/16/2022

Today – July 16th – 988, the new 3-digit number for mental health and su***de crisis, is now available across the nation. Starting today, anyone experiencing a mental health, substance use, or su***de crisis can call or text 988 or chat with the 988 Su***de and Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org. Learn more: https://nami.quorum.us/campaign/41565/

Thank your members of Congress for making 988 possible!

06/24/2022

Big thank you to those who joined our community hour this morning. Discussion arose about the importance of total transparency and, in particular, three recommendations supporting transparent communication

1. Posting all public records on the website, as the city of RB does. Perhaps the new BCHD part-time staff member hired for public record requests can devote time to uploading records.

2. Having each board member provide background information during the BOD meetings about how they arrived at their decision prior to voting. Usually there is no to minimal discussion amongst the board members but a unanimous vote.

3. Advanced notice with the associated documentation, as early as feasible but optimally minimally one week, for the RB planning commission mtg dealing with the conditional use permit for the HLC.

Moving forward Dr Koo will not be holding monthly zoom meetings. She would like ideas regarding other formats that would draw more participation from the public. All ideas welcome.

02/09/2022

Thank you to all who attended the February community hour on Tuesday. Residents discussed the importance of BCHD having a financial back up plan for the HLC project if partnerships are not successful, or there are construction delays, or for any unforeseen issues.Residents emphasized the view that homelessness is an important health issue and expressed concern about board members during the Jan board meeting voicing opinions that homelessness should not be an issue addressed by BCHD.We also discussed the current location for Board meetings on the BCHD campus and whether or not other options are feasible, ie locations with windows for more ventilation due to COVID or rotating locations in all three beach cities to draw more attendance.

12/16/2021

Thank you to all who attended the December community hour on Tuesday. Residents raised relevant questions regarding the reasons for the BCHD’s existence and encouraged the Board and Staff to consider, and prioritize, what is needed for the health of the beach cities’ residents.

There was a lively discussion regarding whether or not the Board members are currently providing the bureaucratic supervision that is essential, representing the public’s best interests, and monitoring the district’s finances responsibly.

12/14/2021

Thank you to all of the community members who have participated in my monthly Zoom community hours. There will be no meeting in January, 2022. I am looking forward to resuming the monthly community hours from 3pm-4pm on the 2nd Tuesday of every month for Feb, March, April and May of 2022!

11/12/2021

Big thank you to the community members who attended my monthly community hour on Tuesday, 11/9.
In summary, residents discussed ideas of “best and highest use” for the Healthy Living Campys with differing opinions about how much maintaining revenues should be a priority, and having a “Plan B”, to ensure building safety, if the HLC construction does not begin on time.

10/13/2021

Join BCHD Board of Directors this Friday, 10/15 from 1pm-5pm for the next Strategic Development Half Day. Priority based budgeting and the HLC Project will be discussed. I encourage residents to join.

Agenda:
https://granicus_production_attachments.s3.amazonaws.com/bchd/9ec697a44b6b0dc6cc4b156abb7732420.pdf

Additional meeting information:
https://bchd.org/board-directors-meetings

Beach Cities Health District

10/13/2021

Big thank you to the community members who attended my monthly community hour on Tuesday, 10/12.

In summary, residents expressed sentiments that the BCHD has displayed poor public policy, has become grandiose and is more focussed on money making than on preventative health care for the three beach cities. They urged the board to consider a ballot measure to obtain a public vote regarding the land use currently planned for the HLC.

Please consider joining us for the next Community Hour with Dr. Koo on the 2nd Tuesday of each Monday at 3pm (future meetings: 11/9, and 12/14).

08/24/2021

Big thank you to the community members who attended my monthly community hour on Thursday, 8/19. In summary, we had a lively discussion about the role of the BCHD and there was an expressed desire, during the upcoming Strategic Planning Meeting, for the board to discuss/define the current role and how this role is fulfilled by the programs, services and partnerships BCHD offers.

Community members made a great suggestion that the BCHD reach out to the local city councils, school boards, parks and recreation department, hospitals, fire departments and police departments to gain more engagement and community feedback about what the community needs for health and wellness. Additionally, community members are aware that I've have asked for more exacting definitions for “program” “service” and “partnership” and are looking forward to those definitions.

Participants expressed gratitude that BCHD has committed to priority based budgeting and are hoping to be able to view, soon, the budget with specific program expenses/income. There was a request to have BCHD publish on the website all the recipients of grants and the amounts of these grants.
Reminder that for the last four months of 2021 (Sept-Dec) the Community Hour with Dr. Koo time is changing to the 2nd Tuesday of the Monday at 3pm.

At the beginning of the year, I committed to changing times for attendance options. First, I offered Monday mornings, then Thursday evenings, and so now I am looking forward to Tuesday afternoons for 9/14, 10/12, 11/9, and 12/14.

07/19/2021

Thank you to the community members who attended my monthly coffee meetup on Thursday, July 15th. A strong sentiment for BCHD participation in the health issue of homelessness was expressed. Although the current plan is for the pallet shelter to not be moved to the BCHD campus, the hope is that BCHD will take a strategic and prominent role in assisting the city of RB, and all the beach cities, with homelessness.

06/18/2021

Thank you to the community members who attended my monthly coffee meetup on Thursday, June 17th. We discussed:

1. The BCHD annual budget and the importance of program based budgeting. Residents expressed the desire for BCHD staff to have the budget prepared earlier in the year, perhaps at least one month in advance, rather than just several days prior to the July 1 deadline so that the Board and residents would have a longer period for time to review and comment.

2. The lists of programs, partnerships and services that BCHD offers. Residents would appreciate clear definitions of “program”, “service” and “partnership” to better assess and understand the degree of involvement and oversight provided by BCHD staff and volunteers.

3. Residents again emphasized the importance of homelessness as a health issue. There was a strong desire for BCHD to partner with Redondo Beach City and assist in offering pallets (homeless transitional housing) on BCHD property. Residents offered additional ideas about how BCHD could help reduce homelessness, such as financial support for each city to have a Homeless Navigator.

4. The importance of direct communication from the BCHD Staff and Board Members.

05/21/2021

My monthly coffee meetups have been a wonderful forum to hear from the community about BCHD related issues. I'm excited to announce that my next monthly coffee zoom is Thursday, 6/17 5:30pm-6:30pm. To join June's monthly Zoom meetup, visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83163818401
For the next few months, I will continue to host the monthly coffee/community hour on the third Thursday of the month at 5:30pm (Zoom links TBD):
7/15
8/19
Hope to see you there!

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05/21/2021

Thank you to the community members who attended my monthly coffee meetup on Thursday, May 20th. I heard:

-Attendants discussed the importance of Beach Cities’ residents and the BCHD building trust and improved collaboration.

-A strong request was made for the BCHD to address homelessness by targeting root causes of mental illness and addiction.

-A difficult but respectful discussion regarding the safety of the 514 building due to seismic issues occurred.

-An emphasis was placed on the BCHD offering programs that are evidence-based and with trackable outcomes.

05/20/2021

Join us tomorrow, May 20th from 5:30pm-6:30pm for my next Community Hour with special guest, Tom Bakaly, BCHD's CEO! To join, visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88691972722
We hope to see you there!

Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

05/17/2021

My next 'Community Hour with Dr. Koo' is this Thursday, May 20th from 5:30pm-6:30pm. To join our monthly Zoom meetup, visit: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88691972722
For the next few months, I will host the monthly coffee/community hour on the third Thursday of the month at 5:30pm for May-August (Zoom links TBD):
6/17
7/15
8/19
Hope to see you there!

05/13/2021

It was wonderful to serve as a Lead Clinical Volunteer at the Adventure Plex last Saturday. Thank you to everyone who dedicated their time to help facilitate teen COVID-19 vaccinations.