CLINICA SIERRA VISTA

Clinica Sierra Vista was formed in 1971 at the dawn of the community health center movement with the simple philosophy that health care is a right for every human being, not just those who can pay for it.

In those early days, at our humble storefront location in the small farming community of Weedpatch, just steps from the fields, we served the needs of migrant farmworkers, long overlooked and neglected by the health-care establishment. Those farmworkers still constitute a large portion of our patient population, but our reach now extends into three counties, over hundreds of square miles in urban, rural and frontier service areas. We treat inner-city residents, the homeless, teen moms, persons living with HIV, the elderly, the poor, the disenfranchised – all irrespective of a patient's ability to pay, spoken language or immigration status. We take pride in being a “safety net."

By embedding ourselves in underserved communities, Clinica has created critical access points for medical and dental care, behavioral health and patient support services that are addressing the region's health disparities and acute provider shortages. We provide high-quality comprehensive primary and preventative care and related health education and supportive services to the underserved populations of Kern, Fresno and Inyo counties.

But Clinica's commitment to improving the lives of our patients doesn't end with their medical care. We offer a series of programs, services and partnerships that address other challenges our communities face like drug use, homelessness, teen pregnancy, and living with HIV. We learned long ago that effectively treating our patients requires a holistic approach and in becoming more than a primary-care home, Clinica has taken a leading role in advocacy and engagement in the communities we serve.

The ultimate goal is to help our patients and their respective communities to become healthier and more vibrant members of our society.

Our mission:
•To assure that no patient is ever refused necessary health-care services for lack of ability to pay. We treat all who seek care irrespective of immigration status, language preference, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, age or disability.
•To pursue a Patient Centered Medical Home approach to care that connects our patients with a consistent team of providers in a neighborhood community health center.
•To set health goals with our patients and implement plans to achieve those goals.
•To offer appropriate services – both in-house and referrals – for patients with social, behavioral or other needs.
•To advocate in the best interests of our patients and health centers.
•To identify and pursue opportunities and partnerships with other entities for the purposes of effectively and efficiently delivering first-rate care and services to vulnerable populations.
•To hold ourselves accountable by inviting rigorous external scrutiny, including: accreditation by The Joint Commission

Clinica's top strategic initiative over its entire five decades has been to take our mission of health care and patient well-being as far and wide as we can, touching as many lives as possible. By that standard, we are proud to point to a track record of robust growth, having expanded from a lone rural health center in Kern County to 31 sites in three counties, serving an incredibly diverse patient population of 200,000.

Expanding Clinica's footprint: We continue to remain acutely attuned to our communities because we are an integral part of them. But Clinica's reputation extends beyond our original service area of Kern County, a factor that is largely responsible for our entry into Fresno and Inyo counties.

•In 2008, a sister community health center in Fresno County reached out to Clinica in financial desperation. Clinica responded immediately, providing the resources to keep the organization afloat temporarily, though eventually the nonprofit filed for bankruptcy, potentially costing thousands of patients access to care and employees their livelihoods. Despite the considerable risk involved, the distance from the headquarters in Kern County, and several logistical and organizational challenges, Clinica assumed operations. That gesture of goodwill has led to a flourishing, and growing, presence in Fresno County, which has 10 health centers, an array of programs, and serves 42,000 patients.

•In Inyo County, Clinica Sierra Vista offered its support and assistance to a Shoshone resident interested in opening a community health center in the 1970s. Eventually, Clinica was asked to assume operations of the Death Valley Health Center and despite the challenges – low population density and a shortage of providers among them – we are committed to serving this frontier population, having recently expanded into the nearby town of Baker in San Bernardino County.

•In Kern County, Clinica has a long history of heeding the call for action and assistance. When sister health organizations and nonprofits could no longer continue operating their health centers, Clinica has stepped in to ensure continuity of care and stave off job losses. Most recently, Clinica was proud to add Ebony Counseling Center to our network, safeguarding the proud legacy of an organization that has helped residents of southeast Bakersfield overcome substance abuse for half a century.

Identifying and seizing opportunities: Clinica has a track record for bold, nimble, decisive action that enriches the lives of our patients and spreads our mission. We challenge convention and anticipate the evolving needs of our patients and the communities we serve.

* In 2014, Clinica formed a teaching health center for family practice medical residents – one of only six in California - when Kern Medical dissolved its own residency program. In doing so, Clinica has ensured medical residents will continue to learn and train in the valley, with a goal toward retaining these doctors to care for our u

Clinica is the oldest and largest federally qualified health center network in Kern County and has operated continuously, and successfully, since 1971. We've grown to become one of the largest community health-center organizations in California and the United States, with 1,300 skilled, passionate members of our team treating some 200,000 people a year.

We have an expert team of grant writers, skilled in identifying funding sources and adhering to the strictures and oversight that come with the funding.

Clinica Sierra Vista also remains at the vanguard of technology adoption, which furthers our ability to provide better outcomes for our patients. We have integrated electronic health and dental record systems, which, when combined with the Central Valley's Health Information Exchange, allow us to coordinate care for our patients across the care continuum, including following up with them on missed specialty appointments or scheduling a primary-care visit after a trip to the ER, for example.

Clinica Sierra Vista is also working with specialty providers via Telemedicine technologies, bringing specialty services to underserved areas of our state.

Using these technologies, we are able to further engage patients in their care, an important consideration that demonstrates our commitment to being a Patient Centered Medical Home.

•In June of 2017, Clinca's Rio Bravo Family Medicine Residency Program graduated its first class of six. Two of those doctors have committed to pursuing their careers right here in the valley, and we've signed contracts with future graduates as well. We are at our full complement of 18 residents and will match our next class in early 2018.
•Our growth continues at a torrid pace. In Fresno County, we have partnered with St. Agnes Hospital on a new community health center on Millbrook Avenue that will open in early 2018. In addition, several more community health centers are scheduled to be built on Fresno campuses. Clinica will also greatly expand behavioral health services in Fresno County, having received a multimillion dollar grant to grow our programs.
•Clinica recently received its seventh Joint Commission reaccreditation, affirming its reputation for superior care, efficiency and integrity.