Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics - March 2004 Charity-of-the-Month

National COVER THE UNINSURED WEEK May 10th -16th



Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics
2107 N. Broadway, Suite 102
Santa Ana, CA 92706
tel: (714) 667-5100 (ext 235)
website: www.forhealthyoc.org
email: lpelayo@coccc.org

Did you know that there are over 43 million Americans without health insurance and 600,000 of those are in Orange County, California?

Uninsured individuals are more likely to die at a younger age then those with health insurance. This is because those who can’t pay for health care go without seeking help until their condition worsens and their pain increases to an intolerable threshold. A late diagnosis and treatment can have devastating consequences. The majority of uninsured come from hard working class families, working in businesses that don’t provide health insurance, and earning wages too low to buy coverage or care on their own.

The mission of Cover the Uninsured Week is to raise awareness of the plight of millions of uninsured.

It is our goal in Orange County to support national and regional efforts to reach out to members of the community for their support in helping the hundreds of thousands of people without health insurance. The Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics is a consortium of 17 community clinic safety-net providers; this is where uninsured individuals turn to for their health care. In all, there are 30 clinic locations across Orange County, California including the cities of La Habra, Fullerton, Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa, Tustin, Orange, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach, and San Juan Capistrano. In 2002, these 17 community clinics served 148,150 patients within 414,096 visits. Of the number of patients seen, 82% were uninsured.

Last year, Cover the Uninsured Week’s main event took place on March 11th at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Delhi Church in Santa Ana and included discussions on the proposed cuts in the state budget and how those cuts would impact uninsured individuals in Orange County. Several mobile community clinics participated in providing a variety of health screenings at no charge to individuals seeking services. What greatly contributed to the success of the event was that the media, including the Los Angeles Times, La Opinión, Garden Grove Cable Channel 3, and KJAZZ radio attended and covered the event.

This year, The Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics and the community clinics in Orange County are planning for another successful Cover the Uninsured Week.

Cover the Uninsured Week for 2004 is from May 10th – 16th. Many great events are in the works of being planned including presentations to business owners, community residents, local schools and faith–based organizations about current opportunities to expand coverage to children through enrollment in Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, and CalforniaKids. Other events also include free health screenings and a proposed radio campaign on Spanish-speaking radio stations. Please call us at (714) 667-5100 in early April for more detailed information on events taking place on Cover the Uninsured Week.


Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics:
Organizational Description

The importance of community clinics as the health care safety net provider is shown in the numbers of uninsured individuals and families living in poverty in Orange County. It is estimated that approximately 500,000 or 17% of Orange County’s 2.9 million residents are uninsured and another 50,000 depend on safety-net programs such as Medical Services for Indigents (MSI) and other county programs. The number of uninsured continues to rise due to the rise of lost jobs and health insurance costs.

Orange County’s community clinics provide a wide range of health care services including primary care, dental, mental health, gynecology, prenatal & obstetrics, immunizations, optometry, pediatrics, urgent care, podiatry, health education, and family planning. Community clinics also provide specialized care to the chronically ill, those with diabetes, hypertension and asthma. They also give culturally appropriate health care to vulnerable populations regardless of ability to pay or insurance status. Uninsured individuals and families rely on community clinics as the first point of entry into the county’s fragile yet only health care system. Patients rely on clinics’ preventive programs and measures to educate them on preventing future illnesses.

The Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics represents community clinic safety net providers in Orange County and provides leadership to assure that high quality services are available to the uninsured and medically underserved.” The Coalition’s mission is “to build and strengthen a community wide system of comprehensive, high quality, accessible and affordable health care.” We are committed to supporting the needs of our community clinic members through service, education, advocacy, and resources in order that they can effectively serve their diverse, multi-cultural populations.

For three decades, the Coalition has served as a membership organization with now 17 community-based clinics, with 30 sites in Orange County. We provide community clinics with the following services:

- A forum in which clinic leaders can share ideas and concerns
- Advocacy on behalf of member clinics’ patients in legislation, policymaking, funding and program development
- Centralized coordination and management of clinic-based programs and services
- Centralized administration of grant funding for clinic-based programs and services
- Centralized administration and management of computer systems
- Centralized coordination of quality management program components

By providing support, technical assistance and advocacy for community clinics and hundreds of thousands of patients, the Coalition can ensure an effective use of resources and a healthier population. All Coalition policies emphasize the commitment and responsibility to its member clinics so that they may serve as the health care safety net for families and individuals in Orange County. The Coalition is committed to ensuring that resources are available to all member clinics for the support of increasing access to health insurance programs (e.g. Healthy Families/Medi-Cal, California Kids etc.) for eligible families and children in Orange County.

A strong system of care is essential to increasing access to important health services for the uninsured including prevention, awareness, chronic disease management and treatment.

If you would like to make a donation to the Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics or would like more information on accessing health care in Orange County please contact:

Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics
Attention: Lissette Pelayo
2107 N. Broadway, Suite 102
Santa Ana, CA 92706

tel: (714) 667-5100 (ext 235)
website: www.forhealthyoc.org
email: lpelayo@coccc.org