COUNTY HEALTH VOTE DELAYED VOTE ON SPLITTING DEPARTMENT SET FOR FEBRUARY.Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County supervisors decided Tuesday to postpone a vote on whether to split the Department of Health Services Department of Health Services may refer to:
n. The use of biological agents, such as pathogenic organisms or agricultural pests, for terrorist purposes. Bioterrorism and bird flu bird flu: see influenza. bird flu or avian influenza viral respiratory disease, mainly of birds including poultry and waterbirds but also transmissible to humans. , and tackle diabetes, obesity and other existing epidemics. The supervisors voted 4-1 to continue the matter, expressing concerns that a contract outlining the relationship between the two agencies would not be ready until Jan. 19. Under the proposal, which faces a final vote after a Feb. 7 public hearing, the Public Health portion would become the Department of Public Health and would no longer be a division of the massive Department of Health Services. This would give Public Health Officer Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding greater control over programs to protect the county's 10 million residents, supervisors said. The plan is also designed to create a more efficient public health system, which would help officials manage care as the Department of Health Services eyes an $889 million shortfall within three years. In recent years, separate public health departments have been created in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. , Boston, Houston, Miami and Seattle. ``We have epidemics of diabetes, obesity, violence and a whole bunch of things that are serious public health problems,'' Fielding said. ``And my view is we are going to be more nimble nim·ble adj. nim·bler, nim·blest 1. Quick, light, or agile in movement or action; deft: nimble fingers. See Synonyms at dexterous. 2. , more flexible if we control priorities in terms of how we hire people, what contracts we approve - the nitty-gritty stuff.'' Under the plan, the Department of Health Services would continue to run hospitals and clinics and the new Department of Public Health would still track and treat diseases with prevention programs and awareness campaigns. But it would help safeguard Public Health money from likely cuts to the Department of Health Services budget. The proposal comes more than three decades after Public Health - which has an annual budget of $650 million and employs 4,000 people - was merged with the larger health department, which has a $3.7 billion budget and 23,000 employees. If the supervisors are forced to close hospitals and make other cuts in the health department in the coming years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time creation of a separate Public Health Department would help shield it from those cuts. ``It means there would be a direct way for the director of public health to talk to the board about issues, as opposed to having a director of DHS DHS Department of Homeland Security (USA) DHS Department of Human Services DHS Department of Health Services DHS Demographic and Health Surveys DHS Dirhams (Morocco national currency) - most of whom don't have a background in public health - making decisions about how much public health should be cut,'' Fielding said. Supervisor Gloria Molina Gloria Molina is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the current chairwoman of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[1] Molina grew up as one of ten children in the Los Angeles suburb of Pico Rivera, California, U.S. , who voted against the plan, said she didn't see any value in the split. ``It seems like a lot of administrative chairs moving around at the top level,'' Molina said. ``I see a lot of potential problems. There is a turf and territorial situation that goes on. I see no benefit for the public.'' The public will be allowed to comment on the plan Feb. 7 before the board votes on whether to give final approval to the split. Troy Anderson, (213) 974-8985 troy.anderson(at)dailynews.com |
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