Catalina Island Health’s Director of Community Outreach Gail Fornasiere presented the bi-monthly update to the Avalon City Council during its meeting on Tuesday, March 17.
The following are the key topics Fornasiere covered.
Intergovernmental Transfer (IGT) with the City of Avalon
- The purpose of this process is to leverage local Measure C sales tax funds to draw down additional federal matching dollars.
- The city participated in this process last year which resulted in the approx. $1 million dollars for CIH after the state received its 20% and the city received its 4.5%.
- As of last week, CIH has repaid the city the full amount owed, even though it had 18 months to do so.
Fornasiere explained that the process has started once again. The first step is for the council to approve a non-binding agreement to explore the funding available for CIH. This year the amount requested is approx. $2.7 million as the funds correlate to the costs of CIH’s uncompensated care. The non-binding agreement was listed as the final item on the meeting’s agenda. The council voted to approve it and keep the process moving forward. The city manager and finance director will review the city’s finances and upcoming projects to be sure there would be no adverse effects on the city. The state needs a signed commitment in July, and this will come back for a vote by the council at that time.
Welby Health
Fornasiere reminded the council of CIH’s partnership with Welby Health. This service, which is typically covered by Medicare, Medi-Cal and most commercial insurances, provides medication management, care coordination, chronic care management, and more. She encouraged community members to reach out to the clinic directly if they have questions or concerns.
She also reminded the council that the clinic only has two phone lines. Meaning they are often busy if someone is on one line making an appointment and another is checking someone’s insurance or getting a referral. They are working to resolve this issue but, in the meantime, please be patient.
Health Fair
CIH is working to bring the health fair back. It has not been offered one since the pandemic. A mid-April date is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. As part of its community engagement efforts, the Catalina Island Yacht Club has offered its clubhouse for the event.
This new version of the health fair will focus on what CIH has to offer. Plans are to include discounted labs, free blood pressure checks, glucose tests, and others, introductions to visiting specialists, new hospital staff such as the Chief Nursing Officer, social services staff and its trainee program, Leo’s prescription info, help with the Patient Portal, information about the MedSpa services, tips from the Fitness Center and Physical Therapy departments, and much more. Additional details will be announced soon.
Resource Fair
CIH is working with LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn’s office and the city of Avalon for the next Island Resident Resource Fair. The tentative date is Thursday, May 7 for a family festival-type event along Crescent Avenue. Local and county agencies and organizations, local groups, EDD, Centro Cha, Salvation Army, Harbor Regional, government representatives, and others will be invited to showcase how they can assist our community members. Activities for kids and live music will likely be included.
A confirmation of the date and other details will be announced soon.
Partnership with LA County and LA Opera
Fornasiere shared that LA County has a partnership with the LA Opera and each year they jointly celebrate Arts and Health Week Summit in June. With the help of LA County Supervisor Hahn’s office, CIH has been working with both entities to possibly bring a small performance to the island in June. The performance would highlight the health benefits of art and music. Still in its early planning stages, CIH will share additional details as they come together.
The LA Opera also offers a Music in Therapy program for hospitals. CIH is exploring that option for its patients and long-term care residents.
The presentation finished with a save the date for the upcoming Catalinaville fundraiser on Saturday, Aug. 1, at Descanso Beach. Catalinaville occurs annually and raised funds specifically for the new replacement hospital.
To learn more about the event visit CIHealthFoundation.org/catalinaville.
If you have questions, CIH encourages you to reach out to Gail Fornasiere, Director of Community Outreach at gfornasiere@ci-health.org or 310-510-0096 x233.
Next planned presentation will take place at a May 2026 City Council meeting.
About Catalina
Island Health
CI Health’s primary care physicians and family nurse practitioners provide the island community with a solid foundation of care.
The medical clinic is located at 100 Falls Canyon Road, Avalon, CA, up the street from Avalon’s City Hall on the bottom level of the hospital. Its hours are 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. Visit CatalinaIslandHealth.org or call 310-510-0096 for more information or to make an appointment. The emergency room is staffed 24/7 with a UC Irvine Emergency Medicine Physician and supported by the CI Health’s laboratory and diagnostic imaging departments to meet the acute medical needs of Catalina Island’s residents and visitors. With the use of patient satisfaction surveys, patients consistently rank CI Health’s emergency services as one of the best in the nation. The hospital’s main number is 310-510-0700. For more information, visit CatalinaIslandHealth.org.
