Direct Relief International Provides Funding to San Diego Community Clinics Affected by the Wildfires
Direct Relief International donated $400,000 to the Council of Community Clinics on behalf of San Diego County member clinics for the outstanding services they provided during the October 2007 wildfires. Direct Relief noted that San Diego’s nonprofit health centers and clinics serve as the main point of access for medical care for thousands of low-income people who lack health insurance. The cash donation will provide additional relief now that the fires are over and will assist health centers and clinics in the affected areas that have experienced increases in patient visits, supply usage, staff costs and decreased revenues in connection with the emergency.
Direct Relief International Presents $400,000 to Safety-Net Clinics
Media Contact: Vince Heald (858) 453-9600
CCC Contact: Stephen O'Kane (619) 542-4300
San Diego - On Wednesday, December 19, 2007, at 11:00 a.m., Direct Relief International will present a check for $400,000 to the Council of Community Clinics on behalf of their 17 San Diego County member clinics for the outstanding services they provided during the October 2007 wildfires. The check will be presented at San Diego Family Care in Linda Vista, a site that experienced an influx of new patients during the fires, many of whom had been evacuated to Qualcomm Stadium but needed health care attention. Direct Relief International is a Santa-Barbara based organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide.
Community health centers provided a variety of services to current and new patients during the fires. In rural East County, Mountain Health and Community Services opened their community center in conjunction with the American Red Cross to provide shelter, food and medical services to 275 evacuees from the surrounding areas. Indian Health Council in Pauma Valley set up temporary clinic sites at nearby casinos to provide needed medical services. Southern Indian Health Council’s physicians made house calls to patients who could not go to the clinic, and distributed masks, water and medication. Borrego Medical Center provided health services to approximately 200 patients per day at Borrego Springs High School, the designated evacuation site for the area.
Neighborhood Healthcare in Escondido lost power, but switched to a large generator they had secured for the purpose of continuing to provide services in a disaster. North County Health Services dispatched their mobile unit to the Ramona relief shelter. San Ysidro Health Center offered free child care to their employees while schools were closed so staff could continue to provide health services to patients. In central San Diego, La Maestra Community Health Center saw an influx of patients and extended their regular hours to accommodate walk-ins, many of whom were from Qualcomm Stadium.
“San Diego community health centers have worked hard over the past several years to be prepared to continue serving patients in a disaster. During the fires, we saw the benefit of this training and preparation,” said Stephen O’Kane, CEO of the Council of Community Clinics. “Health centers gave patients the medication they needed, operated extended hours, and set up health care sites at other locations if needed. And where people couldn’t come to the clinics, health professionals went into the community.”
Direct Relief International quickly mobilized to provide community health centers with urgently needed medication and supplies. Most patients went to clinics complaining of difficulty breathing, asthma and other respiratory problems, as well as eye irritation. DRI contacted each of CCC’s member clinics within one day of the fires starting and asked them for a list of needed supplies. Once the clinics provided the list, DRI shipped the needed medication and supplies overnight. They sent inhalers, respiratory medications, N-95 particulate masks, and other essentials. Children with asthma who did not evacuate with their inhalers suddenly their asthma was under control again. Adults with respiratory problems received much needed medication for free. DRI mobilized quickly and got medications and supplies into the hands of clinic patients who needed them.
Direct Relief International, a licensed pharmacy wholesaler in California for over 40 years, noted that San Diego’s nonprofit health centers and clinics serve as the main point of access for medical care for thousands of low-income people who lack health insurance. The cash donation will provide additional relief now that the fires are over. The funding will assist health centers and clinics in the affected areas that have experienced increases in patient visits, supply usage, staff costs and decreased revenues in connection with the emergency.
“These safety-net clinics typically operate on a one percent or less margin, so our aim is to ensure they can maintain their service levels to working-poor, uninsured patients as the immediate emergency subsides,” said Thomas Tighe, Direct Relief President and CEO.
“We always target our assistance and look for efficiencies that maximize the service provided to people in need, and we are keenly aware that funds received during a high-profile emergency are for the benefit of the people affected by that emergency,” he said.
O’Kane commented that many clinics were impacted either directly or due to increased visits from people suffering the affects of ash and post traumatic stress. “Like so many San Diegans, clinics had staff that were evacuated. Some lost their homes. Yet through it all, our clinics continued to provide services.”
Tighe emphasized that the money contributed to Direct Relief from a wide range of community-conscious corporations and individuals will be put directly into frontline clinics that will see the effects of the fires for months to come.
The $400,000 check will be presented to O’Kane at San Diego Family Care, 6973 Linda Vista Road, San Diego, and CA92111. For additional information about the event, please call 858-453-9600.
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About the Council of Community Clinics
Established in 1977, the Council of Community Clinics (CCC) is composed of 17 community clinic and health center organizations operating more than 75 primary care sites throughout San Diego and Imperial counties. The mission of the CCC is to represent and support community clinics and health centers in their efforts to provide access to quality health care and related services for the diverse communities they serve with an emphasis on low income and uninsured populations. For more information, please call (619) 542-4300 or visit online at www.ccc-sd.org.
About Direct Relief International
Founded in 1948, Direct Relief International is a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit organization focused on improving the quality of life by bringing critically needed medicines and supplies to local healthcare providers worldwide. Direct Relief is one of two charities ranked by Forbes that has received a perfect fundraising efficiency score for five consecutive years and is ranked by the Chronicle of Philanthropy as California’s largest international nonprofit organization based on private support. For more information, please visit www.DirectRelief.org.