HIGHLIGHTS & ACCOMPLISHMENTS Advancing the Health of Our Patients and Communities D E PA RT M E N T
O F
H E A LT H
SE RVIC ES
DIRECTOR’S
message
2021 presented both challenges and opportunities as LA Health Service continued to be on the forefront of our collective fight against COVID-19. The following is a snapshot of our accomplishments throughout these trying times. Together we confronted the unpredictability of the COVID-19 pandemic, from the winter surge to the new variants that keep us adjusting and readjusting in order to keep our patients, communities and each other safe. Through it all, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to provide extraordinary care. Without a doubt, our resilience has been in full display throughout this past year. Amidst an unprecedented and prolonged pandemic, LA Health Services staff continued to excel in our commitment to improve and innovate the services and care we provide. We garnered several NACo Awards, received top recognition from the Productivity and Quality Commission and launched a series of projects and initiatives geared towards moving our services as an integrated health system forward. None of this could have been realized without exceptional teamwork from each and every one of you. Thank you,
Christina Ghaly
Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director Department of Health Services
L A H E A LT H S E R V I C E S
fights covid- 19
WINTER SURGE
Facing unprecedented demands, LA Health Services came together to overcome the winter surge of December 2020 / January 2021. Your dedication saved thousands of lives. Many workforce members were reassigned to support COVID-19 patient hospitalizations, others worked around the clock to ensure care for a record-breaking number of patients.
9,136
Cared for 9,136 unique COVID-19 hospitalized patients from March 2020 through December 25, 2021.
286,982
Administered 286,982 COVID-19 vaccines through December 20, 2021.
3,469,115
Covid-19 tests that have been provided from March 2020 through December 25, 2021.
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Throughout the pandemic, Health Services played a critical role in providing care for LA County residents. Below are highlights of a few of our major undertakings:
L A H E A LT H S E R V I C E S
fights covid- 19
VA C C I N AT I N G S TA F F
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Protecting ourselves and each other was and continues to be a priority. Health Services received its first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine on December 15, 2020. Healthcare workers in the highest risk grouping –intensive care units, COVID-19 wards, Operating Rooms, Emergency Departments, Urgent Care Centers and those with exposure to bodily fluids or otherwise in high-risk contact with patients were prioritized. By the end of 2020, a mere 15 days after the vaccine became available, more than 12,000 Health Services healthcare workers had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
VA C C I N AT I N G PAT I E N T S
Using traditional and innovative outreach methods, Health Services administered nearly 270,000 COVID-19 vaccines to patients through November 2021. An example of an innovative approach came out of Health Services Housing for Health (HFH), the central coordinating agency for the county’s COVID-19 response for people experiencing homelessness. HFH created COVID-19 response teams to provide wellness checks, infection control education, personal protective equipment, testing and vaccinations for people experiencing homelessness.
COMMUNITY EQUITY FUND
THE DELTA VARIANT
The highly contagious Delta variant quickly became the dominant virus strain that fueled surging cases around the world during summer of 2021. In LA County, Health Services played a key role in mitigating the impact in our communities. We doubled-down on testing and combating vaccine hesitancy, activated our community partners to help amplify education and prevention messages and ultimately we were able to rise above this challenge.
fights covid- 19
The community-based organizations linked people to community resources, contact tracing and conducted outreach and education related to COVID-19. They provided information in-person and virtually on COVID-19 prevention and current Health Officer Order requirements, vaccination opportunities, mobile testing, and community events.
L A H E A LT H S E R V I C E S
Health Services partnered with DPH and 57 contracted community-based organizations to serve communities hardest hit by COVID-19. Many of these residents were working people who, throughout the pandemic, have had little to no choice but to continue showing up to their place of work, utilizing public transportation, and living in crowded home settings.
COMMUNITY COVID–19 TESTING
DHS managed the County’s community testing sites, ensuring all 10 million residents had access to COVID testing at no out-of-pocket cost, regardless of immigration status and accessible at sites across LA County.
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RESILIENCE, ACHIEVEMENTS
& innovation
While sustaining a strong fight against COVID-19, Health Services continued to deliver on the frontlines of care. Below are highlights of a few projects we took on: BACK TO CARE
Hear from one of our breast cancer survivors.
Making sure that patients keep up with their routine screenings and doctor visits has been a priority for Health Services; we know early detection is key. We made sure our clinics were ready to bring patients back and became a thought-leader in the media to get the “get back into care” message out to our community. Breast Cancer Detection—Carolyn, a breast cancer survivor, felt a small lump in her breast. Knowing that something was wrong, Carolyn visited Hubert H. Humphrey CHC, where she received a biopsy showing that the growth was malignant. She started chemotherapy treatment and ultimately underwent surgery for her cancer. Because of this early screening and the specialized care she received from our dedicated medical teams, Carolyn is with us today and can celebrate her life with her family.
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NURSE ADVICE LINE
In the spring of 2020, Health Services rapidly created and launched a 24 hours 7 days a week COVID-19 Nurse Advice Line (CNAL), where patients could have their questions and concerns about COVID-19 addressed by a nurse. In 2021, we expanded this vision and created the Nurse Advice Line (NAL) to address patient questions and concerns beyond COVID-19, helping patients access care at the right time, in the right place. Our Nurse Advice Line features Schmitt Thompson algorithms considered the gold-standard for nurse triage content and is supported by Registered Nurses and on-call physicians, available to directly speak with patients when necessary.
EDIA
Health Services launched the Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Antiracism (EDIA) Initiative at the end of 2020. During this past year, we successfully developed our Advisory Group, subcommittees, affinity groups, an EDIA sharepoint and held listening session with workforce members, patients, and the community. We have taken key steps in the right direction. Together we are working towards building a workplace culture that embodies equity, diversity, inclusion and anti-racism.
EDIA
INITIATIVE
Diversity Inclusion Antiracism
R E STO R AT I V E C A R E V I L L AG E S
Restorative Care Villages (RCV) offer support to patients experiencing homelessness and other challenges including mental illness, poverty, addiction, disability and other unstable living conditions. The new facilities offer access to ongoing healthcare to those who are medically fragile and lack a place to live as they recover post hospital discharge. The project was made possible by a collaborative effort between Board of Supervisors, the Department of Health Services, the Department of Mental Health and the Department of Public Works.
RESILIENCE, ACHIEVEMENTS
& innovation
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V I R T U A L H E A LT H
The Virtual Healthcare Project (VHC) went live on Tuesday, November 30th. This phase 1 launch is a crucial step in providing our patients with new opportunities to take charge of their health! New features include our LA Health Portal, an enhanced patient portal with unified communications tool for portal notifications, and ORCHID-integrated video visits. In the first two weeks we have successfully enrolled hundreds of patients into the new LA Health Portal and conducted daily video visits using the new ORCHID-integrated system.
Equity
ASTER ACUITY SCHEDULING & TIME EMPLOYEE RESOURCE
ASTER
Our new Acuity Scheduling and Time Employee Resource system or ASTER went live this year. The new software provides support for time, scheduling and acuity across Health Services, helping us be more efficient and effective with our resources as we care for patients.
Convenient Healthcare at Your Fingertips LA HEALTH PORTAL instagram.com/WeAreLAHealth
d h s. l a co u nt y.g ov
facebook.com/WeAreLAHealth
844.804.0055
Mobile App for Smartphone and Tablets
twitter.com/WeAreLAHealth facebook.com/LAHealthEnEspanol
Your health in the palm of your hands.
ENROLL TODAY STEP 1
Download the LA Health Portal App
STEP 2
LA Health Portal LA Health Portal
Create an Account and Self Enroll at: dhs.lacounty.gov/lahealthportal
Download the LA Health Portal App
Log-In Support and Help: Call 866.889.9258 (available 24/7) or email LAHealthPortalHelp@dhs.lacounty.gov Note: Place your PIN in a safe place. You will need your PIN to activate your account.
SOCIAL MEDIA P L AT F O R M S L A U N C H
FEATURES
Get Your Lab Results
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Read Doctorʼs Notes
Check Appointments
Renew Prescriptions
Message Your Doctor
RESILIENCE, ACHIEVEMENTS
& innovation
Health Services launched new social media platforms to help our workforce members, patients and community connect with us under a new handle – @WeAreLAHealth.
In 2021, DHS was recognized for its outstanding work in delivering our mission. A few of these recognitions are highlighted below.
RESILIENCE, ACHIEVEMENTS
& innovation
NACo AWARDS
This year Health Services received eleven National Association of Counties (NACo) awards. We continue to think outside the box, to create innovative programs and projects that set the bar for how to effectively deliver public health services to our vulnerable communities. The exceptional programs were recognized in the “Health” category on a national level. The full list and summaries of the awards we received can be found here: NACo Awards Critical Care Transport (CCT) is the movement of critically ill patients requiring higher level of care from one medical facility to another while maintaining advanced level of care during transport. Olive View-UCLA Medical Center established its own team in response to a need to provide timely access to life saving treatment, when needed. This is one of the projects that received recognition from NACo. (Photo from Pulse–June 2021)
PRODUCTIVITY & QUALITY AWARDS
Health Services had three proposals in the Top Ten category of the Productivity and Quality Awards, the most of any County department, and ultimately won the Gold Eagle Award – the top award – for “Predictive Modeling of the Covid-19 Pandemic.” This reflected the collaborative work between Health Services Administration, Emergency Medical Services Agency, Berry Consultants, LLC, the CEO’s Office, LA Care, Department of Public Health and the UCLA Departments of Biostatistics, Mathematics, and Statistics. The Gold Eagle award was shared with the Department of Human Resources for successful efforts to implement teleworking in response to the pandemic. Videos on the top ten proposals can be found on the PQA Website.
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Click below to enjoy our 2021 DHS Highlights Video:
MISSION To advance the health of our patients and our communities by providing extraordinary care. VISION Recognized nationally as a model integrated health system. VALUES Welcoming ∙ Inclusive ∙ Compassionate ∙ Excellent ∙ Innovative ∙ Accountable