The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) provides

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

services to

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

residents. Barbara Ferrer is the Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Muntu Davis, MD, MPH is the Los Angeles County Public Health Officer. Jeffrey Gunzenhauser is the Interim Health Officer and Medical Director for Los Angeles County. With a budget of 893 million dollars, Public Health has 39 programs and 14 public health centers to serve 10 million LA County residents.LA County
Annual Report 2012-2013
''Los Angeles County Department of Public Health'', 2012–2013 Public Health programs include:LA County
Annual Report 2012-2013
''Los Angeles County Department of Public Health'', 2012–2013 * Environmental Health: operates

restaurant rating Restaurant ratings identify restaurants according to their quality, using notations such as stars or other symbols, or numbers. Stars are a familiar and popular symbol, with scales of one to three or five stars commonly used. Ratings appear in g ...

system and grading systems for apartments and rental homes; inspects sewage treatment and water plants; enforces state and local environmental laws * Chronic Disease &

Injury Prevention Injury prevention is an effort to prevent or reduce the severity of bodily injuries caused by external mechanisms, such as accidents, before they occur. Injury prevention is a component of safety and public health, and its goal is to improve the ...

; including

Tobacco Control Tobacco control is a field of international public health science, policy and practice dedicated to addressing tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes. Since most cigarettes and cigars and hookahs contain/use to ...

and Prevention,

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

, Senior Health,

Physical Activity Physical activity is defined as any voluntary bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, 2009. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 13/ ...

Promotion and Injury and Violence Prevention * Communicable Disease Control & Prevention; including Acute Communicable Disease,

Immunizations Immunization, or immunisation, is the process by which an individual's immune system becomes fortified against an infectious agent (known as the immunogen). When this system is exposed to molecules that are foreign to the body, called ''non-sel ...

Veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

Public Health,

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

Control Program, and Public Health Laboratory. *

Substance Abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

Prevention & Control *

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

& STD Programs * Community Health Services * Health Assessment &

Epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

* Health Facilities Inspection * Children's Medical Services * Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health * Emergency Preparedness and Response

History

Until the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...

approved the establishment of Public Health on May 30, 2006,

functions were assumed by the

Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (abbreviated DHS and LADHS) operates the public hospitals and clinics in Los Angeles County, and is the United States' second largest municipal health system, after NYC Health + Hospitals. DHS op ...

. the Department of Public Health was formally established on July 7, 2006. On May 10, 2013, the

AIDS Healthcare Foundation AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a Los Angeles-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization providing medicine and health care to individuals living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. As of 2020, it operates about 400 clinics, 64 outpatient healthcare ce ...

(AHF) submitted 70,000 signatures to qualify a

City of Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

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. AHF claims that the Department of Public Health has fallen short in managing several public health issues, including

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and

syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...

, accusing it of having a corrupt, bloated and inefficient bureaucracy. However, the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the legislative body of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles in California. The council is composed of 15 members elected from single-member districts for four-year terms. The President of the Los Angeles City Counc ...

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 A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or ...

. The city is considering a lawsuit over the validity of the AHF-backed ballot initiative on the basis that it would not have the necessary funds or expertise to effectively enforce public health laws via this route. The annual costs of operating an independent public health department would be roughly $261 million. On September 17, 2013, the County Board of Supervisors also voted unanimously to oppose that ballot measure. 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. On March 27, 2014, founding director Johnathan Fielding announced that he would 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." On January 13, 2015, the Board of Supervisors by unanimous decision approved the concept of integrating all health departments: Department of Health Services (DHS), Mental Health (DMH), and Public Health (DPH) to create a unified health agency (Health Agency). It was later motioned by Michael D. Antonovich on August 11, 2015. The cities of

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

and

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

have their own public health departments that were established in the late 1800s when their cities were first incorporated, while the City of Vernon has a Health & Environmental Control Department.

References

External links

Department of Public HealthChoose Health LADon't Think, KnowLA QuitsGet Prep LAFree Blood Lead Screening Program
{{Authority control County government agencies in California Government of Los Angeles County, California Health departments in California Government agencies established in 2006