Dear Beach Cities Resident, 

March is National Social Worker Month, and I salute our team of social workers at allcove Beach Cities, working with young people, as well as our Care Managers who make a tremendous impact on our community by helping older adults and adults with disabilities in the Beach Cities live independently in their homes for as long as safely possible.  

BCHD’s Care Management Program, which serves more than 400 individuals in the Beach Cities, is designed to address the challenges related to caregiving, isolation, difficulty with daily tasks, transportation, mobility, healthcare access and more. 

Many of our Care Management clients rely on Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program) and Medicare to provide the care and resources they need, programs that are currently facing budget cuts in Washington D.C. If enacted, these cuts will certainly be felt here in the Beach Cities. 

That is why our Board President, Dr. Michelle Bholat and I met with Representative Ted Lieu Tuesday, March 18 at allcove Beach Cities. Joined by members of other health-focused community organizations, including NAMI South Bay, South Bay Children’s Clinic and the Venice Family Clinic, our roundtable discussion made clear to the Congressman how important these programs are, and how reliant people are on Medi-Cal services. 

Pictured from left to right: Danielle Duncan-Bernstein, Executive Director of Special Education for Redondo Beach Unified School District, Paul Stansbury, President of NAMI South Bay, Yara "E", Youth Advisory Group member, Board President, Dr. Michelle Bholat, Representative Ted Lieu, Dr. Cesar Barba, Medical Director of Venice Family Clinic’s South Bay and Inglewood clinic, BCHD CEO Tom Bakaly, Lisa Dagget Cummings, Director of Development, South Bay Children’s Health Clinic (SBCHS), Valerie Aguilar, Health Insurance Enrollment Specialist, Venice Family Clinic, SBCHC therapist, Rachel Lloyd, and Redondo Beach resident Kevin Tuxford.

One resident, Kevin Tuxford of Redondo Beach, told of how important Medi-Cal has been in providing home services that have enabled him to remain independent after suffering a stroke two years ago. “If those services disappear, it’s going to be a disaster for many people in the United States,” he said. “These services are essential for people to survive.” 

Medi-Cal and Medicare also impact our young people, too. 

Danielle Duncan-Bernstein, Executive Director of Special Education for Redondo Beach Unified School District, shared that “the public education system is already a pretty taxed system, and if the funding were to go away, our students wouldn’t get the services they need to be proactive and be successful.” Or, as Dr. Bholat put it, “Medicaid makes America Healthy.” 

The National Association of Social Workers’ theme for Social Work Month 2025 is “Social Work: Compassion + Action.” This is a time for action. Now is the time to contact your representatives in Washington, D.C., and let them know how important Medicaid and Medicare are to residents in the Beach Cities and across the nation. 

In health, 

Tom Bakaly
Chief Executive Officer
Beach Cities Health District