National Health Center Week (NHCW) is an awareness week in August meant to highlight the important role community health centers play in caring for their communities. Venice Family Clinic recognizes NHCW with a week of celebration and connection with our patients. With music, raffles, games for kids, clothing, hygiene supplies, food and book giveaways and more, our events provide fun and direct assistance at the same time. Our clinicians perform on-site exams, vaccines and follow-up appointment scheduling. Staff members and partners educate patients about many available resources, such as access to transportation, legal assistance, government services and more.
Who makes it all possible? The clinicians and staff of Venice Family Clinic. In honor of Labor Day, we’re honoring the extraordinary people of the Clinic for their dedication to our patients – which was on full display during National Health Center Week. Here’s how patients and Clinic workers connected over three impactful days this summer.
David Garcia and Valerie Ibarra-Figueroa educate a patient about health insurance enrollment.
Health Insurance Enrollment: David Garcia & Valerie Ibarra-Figueroa
Many of the changes to Medicaid in H.R. 1 make it more difficult for patients to stay enrolled, which would cut costs by reducing the number of people in the program. The people who aren’t going to let bureaucracy stand between patients and the benefits they’re entitled to? Venice Family Clinic’s Health Insurance Enrollment (HIE) team.
HIE helps our patients and community members understand what benefits they’re eligible for and navigate the many deadlines and requirements to get coverage. Team members were out at all three NHCW events where they connected over 400 patients and community members with resources. David and Valerie were at Homeless Connect Day, advising patients who are often hard to contact or who don’t have documentation like photo identification how they can access insurance and health care.
CC visits booths with her groceries at the Free Food Market.
Patient: CC
A retired telephone pole technician for AT&T and Venice Family Clinic patient, CC (who prefers to be identified by her first name) comes regularly to the Free Food Markets on Mondays at our Inglewood clinic. On August 3, she found that the market also included a community resource fair. So that day, CC got all the vegetables she would need for a stew, enjoyed paletas and mariachi music, and connected in-person with the Clinic’s HIE team. HIE has been helping CC navigate her options after being dropped by her Medicare supplement because her social security is just $24 over the qualifying income limit.
“I wish every community could have something like this,” CC said of the fair. “We are truly blessed.”
Rolando Arroyo does intake with a patient at Homeless Connect Day.
Homeless Health Care: Rolando Arroyo, Medical Assistant (MA) & Thelma Enriquez, Patient Services Representative (PSR)
Before our unhoused patients see our clinicians, they work with Thelma, Rolando, and other Medical Assistants and Patient Services Representatives. PSRs handle the administrative side of clinical care, and MAs take the vitals and labs that inform the clinician’s care.
These are critical jobs that require skill, patience and empathy from our homeless health care team.
“Whether it’s wound care or lab draws in the streets, the mobile clinic, or anywhere, really, Rolando is kind and efficient,” Coley King, DO, director of homeless health care. “It’s an art, and he’s got the gift.”
Similarly, Thelma Enriquez has become the clinicians’ eyes and ears. Among other things, she provides integral support for our clinic at The People Concern’s Annenberg Access Center and has gotten to personally know hundreds of patients over the years.
“She really has a knack for understanding what is really going on with our patients,” King said. “Thelma tells us, ‘Oh, this person has this going on,’ and we clinicians might not have known that otherwise.”
At Homeless Connect Day, Thelma and Rolando did labs and check-in/out for 20 patients, delivering personalized and dignified care to all.
Paul L. May at homeless connect day.
Patient: Paul L. May, Jr.
Paul spent the last several years caring for his parents as they suffered from cancer. Unable to care for them and work, he relied on his savings to pay the mortgage on their house – until both parents passed away, and Paul’s savings ran out.
Homeless for the first time in his life, Paul struggled on the street. He was admitted to the emergency room during a life-threatening depressive episode, but fortunately he was referred to Venice Family Clinic.
Paul is still finding his footing, but our clinicians have helped him stabilize his health and mood. His medical team is helping to manage his anxiety and depression as well as his asthma, which Paul says is severe. At Homeless Connect Day, he came to seek out resources to learn about additional government assistance.
“Venice Family Clinic has gotten me healthy,” Paul said. “I’d be struggling right now without them.”
Dr. Kaur examines a patient.
Dental: Ivonne Ruiz, Dental Assistant & Jaspreet Kaur, DDS, Dentist
Our dental team was on-site during National Health Center Week sharing information, making appointments and even doing exams. While Medi-Cal generally covers routine and emergency dental care, some of our patients still face barriers to access because of limits on the scope of what’s covered, and changing health insurance policies. Dental team members help patients get this care despite these hurdles by recommending the most prudent care plan that a patient can afford.
At NHCW, Ivonne supported the dental team with patient care, preparing treatment areas and helping ensure smooth and efficient dental procedures. Dr. Kaur gave exams, spoke with patients about their needs, and recommended future courses of action.
Karlanna and Cazu at Children’s Health Day
Community members: Karlanna & Cazu Lewis
Karlanna and four-year-old son Cazu rode the bus from their apartment in West Los Angeles to Hawthorne because they had such a good time at last year’s NHCW Children’s Health Day that they knew they wanted to attend this year’s event at Zela Davis School. Not currently employed, Karlanna is Cazu’s full-time caretaker and works hard to fill her son’s life with joy.
“We made sure to check out the books,” Karlanna said. “They had a whole table of them, and we love reading. So that was important to us.”
Karlanna and Cazu also attended Homeless Connect Day where they picked up hygiene items and clothing, which Karlanna said makes a big difference for them.
“I’m so impressed with Venice Family Clinic,” Karlanna said. “You welcome so many people.”
Ivanna Kinoshita provides EHS information to an attendee at the Free Food Market and Resource Fair in Inglewood.
Early Head Start (EHS): Gaby DeLoza, Ivanna Kinoshita, Lesli Vasquez, Leticia Garcia
Whether our patients and community members attended our Free Food Market and Resource Fair on Monday, Homeless Connect Day on Wednesday or Children’s Health Day on Friday, they were able to learn about how Venice Family Clinic cares for some of our youngest members.
Gaby, Ivanna, Lesli and Leticia told attendees about how the Clinic offers child development services for children under 3 as well as parental support through our Early Head Start program – all while giving out diapers and goodies to attendees. At our free food market alone, EHS took down the contact information of 17 families who requested follow–up calls regarding the program. After hearing about EHS, one patient said she would tell her niece about the program – who of course couldn’t make the food market herself because she was home caring for her baby.
The dedicated EHS staff members spread word of their services far and wide so they can reach parents wherever they are, whether that’s in person or through word of mouth. The dedication of our EHS staff showing out for the community at every NHCW event mirrors the amount of care they show for their EHS families.