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LHCC >> The Local Health Care Coalition
Located in California's Central San Joaquin Valley in Fresno, The Local Health Care Coalition is a public interest consumer-oriented entity that works for health care access and on public health issues. Fresno County and other surrounding counties are very culturally diverse communities with high poverty and unemployment rates, compounded by a job market with low wages and few benefits. A large proportion of the population does not have access to appropriate health care. In this setting, the Coalition's primary goal is to increase access to health care for those who are underserved or unserved that is medically, culturally, linguistically, and geographically appropriate, and to improve community health.
The Coalition's activities to achieve its goal are three-fold. The Community Health Care Roundtables are held the third Thursday morning of each month from 7:30 to 9:30 am. The Roundtables provide communication, networking, and brainstorming. The location is Trinity Lutheran Church, 3973 N. Cedar in Fresno, and all interested persons are invited to attend. A continental breakfast is provided. Average attendance is 70.
Three Action Teams work on specific projects:
The Uninsured-Indigent Action Team developed the "Fresno Opportunities For Health Care" eligibility binder inventorying no-cost and low-cost health insurance programs and on-going health care services. This publication is currently being updated and translated into Spanish.
The Underserved-Insured Action Team helped coordinate four forty-hour health care interpreter training sessions provided by Healthy House in Merced and The California Health Collaborative. This Action Team is currently addressing the barrier that the lack of adequate and appropriate transportation presents to health care access.
The Community Health Action Team is focusing upon the local implementation of Proposition 36 that will provide treatment rather than incarceration for first-time drug offenders. It previously addressed the need for needle exchange programs to reduce injury and death associated with injection drug use.
A fourth Consumer Action Team may be developed in the future. That Action Team would help develop and mobilize health care leadership among low-income consumers, including immigrants. Learn more about our Action Teams by visiting our Action Teams page.
The Action Teams and the Roundtables are two of the Coalition's activities. The third activity is the Local Health Care Coalition itself. The twenty-member advocate group meets weekly, except for the Roundtable week. In addition to planning the Roundtables and participating in the Action Teams, the Coalition addresses health care access and community health issues and often takes a specific public advocacy position on various positions. Some of the members of the Coalition are representatives of community organizations; others are interested individuals. The Coalition also serves as the steering committee for the entire health care project that is administered through Fresno Metro Ministry.
Fresno Metro Ministry created the Coalition in late 1993 to increase public participation in the discussion regarding the creation of a Regional Medical Center. A second phase of the Coalition's life was its successful effort in creating a consensus among private providers and County administration for a workable and fair "Local Initiative". However, the majority of the County Board of Supervisors at that time refused the agreement, and Fresno County ended up with two for-profit H.M.O.'s (Health Maintenance Organizations) for managed care Medi-Cal (Medicaid).
Next, the Coalition provided leadership in the "public good" debate about whether Fresno County should contract with a private hospital for indigent services and close its County hospital. The Coalition was a strong advocate for maintaining a Level 1 Trauma Center, a burn center, the medical education program, and community clinics. A further phase for the Coalition was addressing "safety net" problems created by the two-HMO managed care Medi-Cal system. In 2000, the Coalition helped break open a log-jam that had prevented tangible progress on the development of a Regional Medical Center. That same year the Coalition addressed mental health issues, including helping prevent an abrupt disruption of Fresno County's expanding mental health program.
In September 1998, the Coalition received a one-year planning grant from The California Endowment for enhancing public-private collaborative planning for health care in Fresno County. The Community Health Care Roundtables were developed as the primary structure for that planning to begin.
A two-year funding grant from The California Wellness Foundation was received for the project in April 1999, and a smaller follow-up grant was received in April 2001. The Coalition has also received a grant from Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, Fresno for involvement of low-income consumers, and an additional grant from St. Agnes Medical Center. Short-term funding was also provided by The California Endowment to engage low-income health care consumers in health care advocacy and information efforts. A larger grant for this purpose is anticipated. Other community groups, agencies and organizations have also been financial sponsors of specific Roundtables over the past several years and/or contributors to specific Action Team projects.
All interested persons are invited to participate in the monthly Roundtables and the Action Teams. If you wish to know more about the Community Health Care Roundtables or the Action Teams, please visit Roundtables or Action Teams.
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