At some point in life, all of us experience what the Vasquez family faced that afternoon: the sudden threat of severe illness or death to ourselves or our loved ones, and the desperate hope that somehow the medical system can pull off a miracle. Like the Vasquez family, we depend on highly trained specialists - who understand the mysterious workings of the body - to know what to do. Similarly, we are dependent on a health care system that is confusing and seriously compromised. Instead of waiting for a national cure for our health care system's ailments, the Santa Cruz Westside Community Health Center ("Westside") takes matters into its own hands. Today. The Santa Cruz Westside Community Health Center is a grassroots, community-based organization, committed to providing affordable and accessible, high quality health care, regardless of the patient's social' status (income, age, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, sexual orientation, etc.). The clinic has the following special commitments: • To provide services for those who might otherwise have difficulty receiving adequate care, especially those who are low income, pregnant, or have limited access due to language, physical or cultural barriers. • To emphasize a wholistic approach to communityoriented primary care that includes prevention, education and involvement of people in decisions about their own health care. • To advocate for affordable, quality health care for all people by promoting change in the current health care system. Westside has designed its services and programs based upon the community's need for increased access to primary . care. Its administrators and board of directors take a look at families such as the Vasquezes, and assess their greater health care needs. Guillermo needs regular monitoring for his high blood pressure and diabetes that he can actually afford. Maria needed prenatal care that culturally and linguistically catered to her as a monolingual Latin American woman. Her children need pediatric development exams, immunizations, nutrition assessments, anemia screenings, and readily available sick care for common childhood maladies (ear infections, flu, sore throats, etc.). Maribel Cuervo, Medical Assistant and Health Educator, listed Westside's services as "...promoting proper nutrition, basic sanitation, maternal and child health care, family planning, and immunizations against major infectious diseases. This also includes prevention, control and treatment of common diseases, injuries and provision of essential medications." Westside's services are the first level of contact between the community and the health care system, providing support to peripheral services (such as radiology and/or specialists) by means of referral. The clinic's commitment to the community's lowincome families increases access for people who are traditionally underserved. Christy Hawley, Family Nurse Practitioner, states: "We are a safety net between preventable illness and emergency medicine. By making basic primary care more easily available, we can diagnose illness earlier, and treat the person before minor ailments become emergencies." The health center is not a free clinic, but provides affordable care and also serves MediCal recipients (California's version of Medicaid). In Santa Cruz County, only 7% of physicians accept MediCal because they are reimbursed by the state so poorly, at roughly 30% of what it t~kes to actually provide care. Guillermo, who does not qualify for MediCal and is completely uninsured, pays at a rate that is adjusted according to how much he earns a month and how many people are dependent upon his income. Our sliding scale is the lowest in Santa Cruz. The majority of the Health Center's funding comes from providing services, paid for by MediCal, MediCare, . \ private insurance and cash. 18% of the annual budget comes from a Community Grant from the City of Santa Cruz. In the past years, the clinic had a variety of State contracts which made up about 13% of total revenues and were primarily Prop 99 funds (the Tobacco and Alcohol Tax initiative). Westside is also recognized as an Expanded Access to Primary Care (EAPC) provider. This qualifies the clinic to receiv~ additional funds to supplement the State's inadequate MediCal/MediCare reimbursements. The director has also begun the Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) application process which would bring in additional funding, as does the EAPC program. Although the funding is put to good use, it is not sufficient. The only way to comprehensively increase RAIN Summer 1996 Volume XV, Number 1 Page 7
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