With four candidates seeking three open seats on the Beach Cities Health District board of directors, the Nov. 4 election looks a bit like musical chairs. Each candidate has a 75 percent chance to grab one of those chairs when the music stops.

The candidates for the seats on the board, which dispenses millions of dollars to healthcare programs, include one incumbent, who’s backed by three current board members and two of her three rivals.

Her rivals are a registered nurse and healthcare attorney, a physician with a master’s degree in Health Care Policy and Management, and a certified financial planner and co-owner of Enright Premier Wealth Advisors.

In alphabetical order they are:
Marie Corr of Redondo Beach, a registered nurse and healthcare attorney, wants to help the district continue to provide quality health care prevention programs that are fiscally responsible and consistent with the health care priorities of the three beach cities.

Although the BCHD is currently financially sound, it is foreseeable that local revenue to the three beach cities will decrease over the next four years. Diminished city revenues may lead to increased demands by the cities on the BCHD to fill in the gaps, via direct services and/or funding. This increased demand in combination with a growing aging population will require the BCHD to reprioritize its resources, both in manpower and funding, to ensure that the BCHD’s health prevention services and programs meet the beach cities preventative health care needs.

She points to her experience as an RN, an attorney working with programs including Medicare and Medicaid, and Medi-Cal, a volunteer BCHD committee member since 2006, a parent and a cancer survivor.

She also serves on the professional panel of the Cancer Legal Resources Center in Los Angeles, providing pro bono legal help to people with cancer in issues such as coverage and access to services.

She supports incumbent Vanessa Poster for one of the other open seats.
(www.smartvoter.org/vote/corr)

Robert Jay Grossman of Hermosa Beach, a physician and a student at the UCLA School of Public Health with a master’s degree in Health Care Policy and Management, wants to use the abundant financial and human resources of the BCHD to develop a stronger health orientation in our community.

With programs to improve access to medical and dental care for our most vulnerable residents, programs to encourage physical activity, reduce childhood obesity and deal with teen tobacco and drug use we can be the healthiest population in the county.
He said the uncertain economy makes the choice of Health District board members especially important.

Given the economic downturn, with rising unemployment and loss of health benefits, there will be many more South Bay residents with lack of adequate access to health care services.
Grossman said he is uniquely positioned.

My background includes the practice of health care in our community for 20 years in the most challenging of medical specialties. I am an associate clinical professor at UCLA School of Medicine. I am currently studying in public health policy and management at UCLA. I feel no other candidate has the qualifications that I have for this position.

He also has taken part in an international public health project in Yerevan, Armenia, and is a founding board member of the American Heart Association’s Torrance Branch.
He supports Vanessa Poster for one of the other open seats on the board.
Brian E. Parker of Hermosa Beach, a certified financial planner and co-owner of Enright Premier Wealth Advisors, wants to use his expertise in financial forecasting, modeling, and management to strengthen the district’s financial position.

I want to see the district continue to support our aging population to grow old with dignity. I would strengthen the BCHD’s care management, friend to friend, support groups, and errand volunteers for seniors. I would increase support programs like Growing Great, Adolescent Coping Education Series, and Live Well Kids that encourage healthy habits for our youth and teens.
Parker’s civic and volunteer involvement includes the Little Company of Mary Community Health Foundation and H.E.L.P.

Our beach cities residents are seeing their personal health care benefits cut, their net worth shrink, and their lifespan extend. The major difficulty presented to the next term’s board members is to continue to expand services without compromising its own financial health in the process.
Parker said the BCHD bought a $500,000 Lehman Brothers bond and stood idle as the company plunged into bankruptcy, and extended a $2,500,000 credit line to a tenant at 1.91 percent, which is simply too low.

More than half of the district’s revenues come from its portfolio of assets, and I am the candidate with the qualifications to protect it.
(www.smartvoter.org)

Vanessa Poster of Redondo Beach, the incumbent, a vice president of Schreck & Associates Fundraising Consulting, said she has led the BCHD’s strategic planning for 12 years, working with staff, community members and colleagues on the board to raise the bar on what we can provide for the South Bay.

In an effort to help those most in need, I continue to search out programs that focus on low-income residents without health insurance, at-risk teenagers, and families juggling child rearing and aging parents.

Her efforts were recognized by the local League of Women Voters chapter with its first ever Making Democracy Work award.

She pointed to the district’s programs aimed at preventing childhood obesity by teaching elementary kids about nutrition and exercise, teaching teenagers how to make healthy decisions, encouraging adults to exercise and helping older adults stay active and safe in their homes.
In addition to two of her three competitors in the race, Poster is endorsed by Congresswoman Jane Harman, Assemblyman Ted Lieu, Supervisor Don Knabe, BCHD board member Joanne Edgerton and outgoing members Walt Dougher and Muriel Savikas, and numerous former board members, members of local city councils and school boards.

My life has meaning because of what I do in my communityI’ve been serving on the Beach Cities Health District board of directors since 1996 and I love it.
(vanessaposter.com) ER