El Camino Healthcare District awards $1.4 million grant

Continuing a partnership that began in 2008, the El Camino Healthcare District has awarded a $1.4 million grant to the VMC Foundation to fund low-income health services provided to North County residents at the VMC-operated Valley Health Center Sunnyvale.

The $1,400,000 grant includes $1,061,000 for integrated primary care services and $339,000 for the dental clinic.

The recent expansion of the dental clinic to include evening hours was entirely due to the District’s support. This allows the clinic to better meet the extremely high demand for adult dental services. Both daytime and evening clinic hours will continue due to this additional grant funding.

An exciting new aspect of the grant is the inclusion of public health activities as part of the integrated primary care model. Funding from El Camino Healthcare District will enable the clinic to add a public health nurse to work with the primary care team, specifically to focus on community level health factors for high-risk chronic disease patients. The public health nurse will conduct home visits to assess environmental and home conditions that influence health behavior (specifically identification of community health barriers) and assist in coordination of community resources.

For more background on this partnership, check out the video below.