Family Health Centers of San Diego
Tucked under the Coronado Bridge in Barrio Logan, a largely Hispanic neighborhood, sits a small clinic, the Chicano Community Health Center. This humble clinic is open only two evenings a week and provides 150 patient visits per month by a committed team of volunteer physicians who believe in the mission of community medicine. These practicing physicians hold true to the same goals of rightful medical access and community healing as they did when they made application to medical school many years prior … the year was 1970.
Today, that same organization has evolved into 25 sites where over 700 employees and approximately 100 providers are engaged in the mission of community medicine. In the absence of a national healthcare plan, Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD) made a commitment more than two decades ago to create a comprehensive healthcare organization where patients could obtain low- or no-cost medical care, where physicians could practice medicine without administrative burden, and where national quality goals would drive the operations of its clinics. The early successes prompted the board of directors to expand the mission and scope of FHCSD into all San Diego communities that lack affordable, accessible, quality medical care.
The physicians who currently work in the Family Health Centers of San Diego system appreciate the opportunity to practice medicine without the responsibilities of practice overhead: workers’ compensation premiums, personnel management, rent payments, billing and claims management, to name a few.
The FHCSD system also ensures the physicians have the supportive services needed to promote optimal patient care. For example, a team of health educators are scheduled at each clinical site; case management is provided in all clinical departments; needed equipment is procured through a team of grant developers; appointments and reminder calls are capably handled by a centralized call center and licensed nurses in every clinical department provide nursing services and education support.
Years ago, FHCSD developed its own software — a sophisticated patient tracking system that is capable of features such as on-demand reporting and electronic prompts to remind physicians the date and value of their patient’s last lab test. Monthly medical staff forums offer the opportunity to connect with other physicians who serve at the various FHCSD locations.
Quality is the act of continually striving to be the best, and at Family Heath Centers of San Diego, the physicians have a voice in the development of new programs and services. For example, a high-complexity lab was established in 2006 to provide faster lab results to physicians, program grants are written to establish needed services such as a free immunization program, no-cost cancer screening programs and sliding scale medical care. Family Health Centers of San Diego is not mandated to have national accreditation, yet FHCSD has been accredited by The Joint Commission for over a decade. This is another testament to the quality goals of FHCSD.
FHCSD offers the capability for many in-house referral services for physicians. These include podiatry, speech therapy, health education, nutrition, dental, mental health counseling and many more. Programs are conceptualized and developed based on input from the FHCSD physician partners. These physicians represent such disciplines as internists, pediatricians, OB/GYNs, family practice physicians, and a host of specialists, including endocrinology, neurology, ENT, cardiology, and orthopedics.
FHCSD is proud of the growth and expansion into needy communities throughout San Diego County. Each year FHCSD has experienced a significant increase in patient volume. Now the second largest volume community health center in the nation, FHCSD provides over 450,000 healthcare encounters each year.
In addition to free-standing clinics, for over a decade the organization has provided needed medical care to homeless shelters, battered women’s shelters, elementary schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods and other community settings utilizing three, 40-foot mobile medical units. The KidCare Express program, as the mobile medical unit project is known, provides over 25,000 visits each year.
Through years of focused grant writing, the following programs were created to enhance the services of FHCSD: pediatric speech, occupational, and physical therapies; the most comprehensive HIV services in San Diego; a Health and Developmental Services Program for screening young children; vision care clinic; specific programs for asthma prevention, teen pregnancy prevention, lead screening, and diabetes management; dedicated walk-in clinics and a dedicated teen health center, to name o a few. These programs enhance the delivery of medical care services throughout the network of FHCSD clinics.
Physician practice at Family Health Centers of San Diego has changed from the early beginnings almost 40 years ago. Volunteers represent the past. Today all physicians are on-staff at the health center. Wages are competitive and benefits are excellent — certainly a far cry from the days when physicians finished a busy day at their private practice or at the hospital and then ran down to the Barrio to volunteer until late in the evening. Today’s physician makes a career commitment to community medicine. In addition to the competitive salary and benefits package, the physicians at FHCSD can derive satisfaction from knowing that the healing arts are never enjoyed more than when they are provided to those with the highest need.
FHCSD chief medical officer, Mark Bulgarelli, MD, states, “As an FHCSD physician, I am honored to be of service and to be a part of the rich history of this community. Each day we deal with patients with few resources and we face those challenges together. We at FHCSD have found innovative ways to provide high-level services. I am part of a team of caregivers that is touching lives in a positive way every day.”
Where else in San Diego can physicians practice medicine their way, not worry about the overhead of a group and know deep in their hearts that they are helping those who need care and help the most? The answer is in a community health center.
Family Health Centers of San Diego invites physicians to take a tour and see first-hand, the wonderful world of community medicine. Call us at (619) 515-2301 — we would enjoy showing you healthcare — our way!