Beach Cities Health District Named 'District Of The Year'

REDONDO BEACH, CA —The Association of California Healthcare Districts, which oversees 77 health districts in the state, has named Beach Cities Health District "Healthcare District of the Year."

The announcement came during ACHD’s 69th annual meeting and 2021 awards ceremony on Sept. 23. The theme of the event was “Recover, Refocus and Adapt” a concept that was the cornerstone to BCHD’s COVID-19 response — the campaign that earned BCHD the honor.

BCHD was on the front lines of the pandemic. It activated its district operations center in March 2020, creating a COVID-19 testing site and vaccination site, helping older adults in the community and offering other health and wellness tools for people. The district adapted to continue providing accurate information for community members.

Hundreds of teachers and school staff from 11 South Bay school districts were vaccinated at BCHD's AdventurePlex site. It first opened as a closed Point of Distribution, only open to teachers and designated school personnel.

“We are honored to receive this award—this past year was unprecedented, and we stepped up as an organization to serve our community during this great time of need,” Beach Cities Health District CEO Tom Bakaly said in a statement. “I accept this award on behalf of our community, partners, volunteers, board and staff. It was a collective effort, and we couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Healthcare District of the Year Award honors a healthcare district that implemented one or
more initiatives to improve the health and well-being of their community. Honorees were
evaluated based on their contributions to the communities they serve including, dedication to
both preventive care and crisis response during the COVID-19 pandemic. A panel of outside
judges scored all nomination materials.

“Beach Cities Health District (BCHD) exemplifies what it means to put community first,” said Cathy Martin, CEO of the Association of California Healthcare Districts.

“From the onset of the pandemic, its comprehensive response to meet the needs of residents and employees is remarkable," Martin said. "During the pandemic, BCHD has and continues to execute a broad strategy that has not only addressed the needs of the most vulnerable populations through safer-at-home programs, but also through providing resources to address the mental health and wellness needs in the communities it serves, all while providing testing and vaccinations. Their dedication is humbling.”

In 2019, BCHD’s CEO Tom Bakaly received ACHD’s CEO of the Year award. In 2014, BCHD also completed ACHD’s Best Practices in Governance certification process. BCHD Board member Vanessa Poster was additionally named ACHD’s 2018 Trustee of the Year and received a distinguished service award for her work on the board from 2002-2008.

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