To: Board of Supervisors
From: Lewis Broschard, Chief, Contra Costa County Fire Protection District
Report Title: Financial Support for Healthcare Literacy Council
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing board for the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District (District), APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Fire Chief or his designee to transfer $500,000 from the Fire District Emergency Ambulance Transport Fund to the Health Services Department in support of the Healthcare Literacy Council initiative.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The District’s Emergency Ambulance Transport Fund has sufficient revenue in FY 2024-25 to support this initiative and is therefore providing transparency in its intent to support and transfer funding from the Ambulance Transport Fund to the Health Services Department as the lead agency for this initiative. Health Services will be responsible for carrying forward this funding into FY 2025-26 and any future fiscal years where expenditures are anticipated.
BACKGROUND:
A new initiative to reduce demand and impact on emergency departments, the 911 system, and emergency ambulance services was recently launched in combination with Contra Costa Health, Contra Costa County, and Kaiser Permanente. The goal of this three-year program is to improve community health outcomes by increasing healthcare literacy. The pilot phase of the campaign will focus on reaching the incorporated and unincorporated communities of Antioch, Bethel Island, Brentwood, Byron, Discovery Bay, Knightsen, and Oakley with healthcare literacy information and outreach. The program will be expanded to the remainder of the county at a later date. Through education, community engagement and community partnerships, the initiative aims to empower residents to navigate the healthcare system to obtain the services they need, where they need them, without relying on the emergency health systems as a primary means of obtaining care.
The funds from the District will help to support this pilot program with the goal of reducing service demand on the emergency department and 911 response systems for non-emergency healthcare needs and increase the use of appropriate care resources through education, outreach, and collaboration between the founding members of the council.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The District would not be in a position to support this important healthcare service initiative.