Dr. Martha Koo Of Manhattan Beach In Top Spot For BCHD Board

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Though the election won't be certified until December, Manhattan Beach resident Martha Koo appears to be the number one winner in the race for a seat on the Beach Cities Health District Board of Directors.

Ever since election night, Koo has maintained the top spot in terms of votes. She now has 28,776 votes which translate to 23.65% of the total votes. For a newcomer that's an impressive feat, especially when you consider she ran against three incumbents, several fo whom have been on the board for many years since there are no term limits.

Koo, who will be sworn in on Dec. 16 during the December BCHD Board Meeting, told Manhattan Beach Patch, "I was very surprised to be the number one winner, and felt honored to have earned such an outpouring of community support. In hindsight, I feel that being the number one winner validates what I heard from the community during my campaign outreach, namely that the community wants to be engaged, to be heard, to be properly represented and to have a mental and physical wellness expert and businesswoman who can comprehensively evaluate the HLC [Healthy Living Campus presently under consideration] plan and the ongoing BCHD programs."

Koo, who is a psychologist and psychiatrist, is also the founder and supervising medical director of Neuro Wellness Spa as well as clinical supervisor at the Clear Recovery Center. She is board certified in addiction medicine and has provided outpatient psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and pharmacological treatment for individuals, couples and families for more than 20 years.

Her immediate focus, once on the board, will be the HLC. "I believe decisions related to the HLC are time-critical and of the upmost importance." The HLC is in its second design iteration, having been scaled back from its original design. The HLC is set to be located at 514 North Prospect Ave., Redondo Beach, where many BCHD service and its gym are housed and will include use of a vacant lot off Flagler Avenue and Beryl Street in Redondo Beach.

A refined Draft Master Plan, that pares down the project, was presented at the June 17 virtual Board of Directors Meeting. The new version of the project includes:

• Fewer Units: Reducing Residential Care for the Elderly (RCFE) units from 420 to 220;
• Smaller Building Sizes: Reducing the square footage of the new buildings from 423,000 sf to 253,700 sf; with plans to shift them farther from adjacent homes;
• Less Construction Time: Active construction time is shortened from nine to five years in two phases (instead of three).

Of course, with COVID-19 making its mark nationwide, the Beach Cities are no exception. "Mental health in the South Bay, and the entire nation, is suffering tremendously due to the pandemic—increased social isolation, economic instability and changes to our daily routines," she noted. "I hope to advocate for policies and programs that value mental wellness as much as physical wellness and that will support the healthiest community possible during these challenging times."

Incumbents and Redondo Beach residents Vanessa Poster and Jane Diehl are presently in second and third place in the quest for three open BCHD board seats. Poster, who has been on the BCHD board for more than 20 years, has 27,630 votes at 22.71% and Diehl, who has been on the board six years, has 27,075 votes at 22.25%. Incumbent Vish Chatterji appears to have lost his seat, with 24,004 votes and 19.73%.

According to its website, BCHD, "one of the leading preventive health agencies in the nation, is working with the community to reimagine our aging, former hospital site to better reflect our mission and meet the current health needs of Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach residents. In pursuit of this vision, since May 2017 we've collected feedback from the community, consulted with experts and publicly vetted numerous designs and concepts for the 11-acre site with our board of directors. A master plan to create a contemporary Healthy Living Campus anchored in Health, Livability and Community has emerged from this iterative community-driven process. This once-in-a-generation project is our community’s unique opportunity to chart the future of health in the Beach Cities by purposefully building an intergenerational, vibrant campus where people can engage in healthy behaviors, form meaningful connections and be well … for many generations to come."

Said Koo, "I am looking forward to improving the relationship between the Board and the Beach Cities’ residents, to updating procedures/programs to take full advantage of modern technology, to truly assessing what the community wants and needs to ensure that BCHD programs are relevant and to increase community awareness of and accessibility to the BCHD."