About the Grant Opportunity
The Prebys Foundation’s goal is to ensure that excellent, culturally competent healthcare is accessible to, and in, underserved communities.
To help us define underserved communities, we looked at those areas with low medical service rates, high rates of health professional shortages, and high rates of morbidity.
We know community clinics are the primary healthcare providers to these communities. The data also shows clinics serving border communities and on tribal lands are under-resourced to meet the systemic challenges their communities face.
Therefore, Prebys is launching the Strengthening Health Access, Resources and Excellence (SHARE) Initiative which will provide two-year, general operating support funds of up to $250K per year to high performing, culturally competent community health clinics, particularly those serving indigenous, immigrant, and border communities.
Prebys Foundation awarded $8.1M to 18 local clinics to advance quality, culturally competent care.
Why it Matters
Health outcomes are vastly unequal across San Diego, and historically marginalized and excluded communities continue to bear the burden of this inequity.
Specifically, health outcomes in San Diego are strongly correlated to income, racial identity, and geographic location.
- Those with a low socio-economic status are more than twice as likely to suffer from a disease or illness (ranging from acute to chronic) than someone with high socio-economic status.1
- Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) populations have the highest rates of disability.2
- More than any other races, Hispanic residents in San Diego County did not have a usual place to go when sick or in need of health advice.3
- San Diego County hides starkly inequitable access to care based on location. Residents of El Cajon have a patient-physician ratio of 3,830:1, a number that is 10x larger than the ratio for a resident of La Jolla (375:1).4
How does this initiative fit within the foundation’s strategy?
In February 2023, the foundation launched its strategic plan and articulated a long-term vision for healthcare in San Diego — that all San Diegans are mentally and physically healthy.
As part of this vision, the foundation is focused on three core areas, ensuring:
- San Diegans are trained for, and offered, quality jobs in healthcare, including community and behavioral health workers
- Excellent, culturally competent healthcare is accessible to and in, underserved communities
- Underrepresented communities feel trust and safety with their health providers
This is our first healthcare initiative under our new strategy, and for the next several years, we will learn from this and other initiatives as we continue to improve our strategy and deepen community support. Thus, while this initiative is providing two years of funding, we are also committed to building relationships with the community and providers that go well beyond that time frame.
Meet the Grantees
| Organization | Amount | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
Alliance Health Clinic |
$400,000 |
To provide primary health care for the low-income, immigrant, and refugee members of the community. |
|
Challenge Center |
$500,000 |
To increase access and quality care for persons with disabilities and the aging population. |
|
CSUSM/Truecare Mobile Clinic Partnership |
$300,000 |
To provide free healthcare services to underserved communities in North San Diego County through a mobile health clinic. |
|
Family Health Centers |
$500,000 |
To increase Care Navigation within the Refugee community. |
|
Fourth Trimester Project, UCSD |
$300,000 |
To focus on female reproductive care after delivery. |
|
Indian Health Council |
$500,000 |
To increase access to healthcare within the northern rural area of San Diego. |
|
La Maestra Family Clinic |
$500,000 |
To increase care navigation for chronically ill patients |
|
Neighborhood Healthcare |
$500,000 |
To increase the quality of healthcare in the El Cajon region. |
|
Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest |
$500,000 |
To increase access to care coordination for health. |
|
San Diego American Indian Health Center |
$500,000 |
To provide access and quality healthcare to American Indian Native Alaskan community members. |
|
San Diego Family Care |
$500,000 |
To expand access by increasing a culturally competent workforce. |
|
San Ysidro Health |
$500,000 |
To increase access along the border and rural communities. |
|
Southern Indian Health Council |
$500,000 |
To increase access for the Indigenous communities in rural San Diego. |
|
Survivors of Torture International |
$500,000 |
To increase access to healthcare for asylum seekers, refugees, and immigrant survivors. |
|
Truecare |
$500,000 |
To increase access to healthcare in North County communities. |
|
UCSD Health |
$200,000 |
To increase access to maternal health for the refugee community. |
|
UCSD Student-Run Clinic |
$400,000 |
To provide access to free healthcare for uninsured patients. |
|
Vista Community Clinic |
$500,000 |
To provide access and quality care to communities in North County San Diego |
|
References:
1 Community Health Statistics Unit (CHSU). (2021). Racial Equity Dashboards — San Diego County. Tableau Software.
2 Community Health Statistics Unit (CHSU). (2021). Racial Equity Dashboards — San Diego County. Tableau Software.
3 County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. (2021). Racial Equity Framework and Outcomes Brief, Data Guide (FINAL).
4 California Health Care Foundation. (2021). Regional market almanac 2020: San Diego [PDF].
