|
more articles like this
Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics
updated: Oct 09, 2010, 8:30 AM
The Mission of the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is to provide high quality, affordable medical care to all people, especially those uninsured and otherwise under-served, while maintaining a welcoming environment and treating patients with compassion, dignity, and respect. We strive to achieve excellence and to maximize the potential of each employee, volunteer, and board member through a respectful and supportive organization.
As the critical health safety net for the Santa Barbara Community, the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics is dedicated to providing the best possible medical and dental care regardless of the patient's ability to pay.
SBNC was formed in 1998 by merging three existing medical clinics, which had provided medical care to low-income patients since the 1970's. Today, SBNC consists of three free-standing Medical Clinics, a Health Promotion Center, a Dental Clinic and a Dental Education Center. Our clinics are strategically located in the heart of key neighborhoods, bringing access to our patients' back doors. In FY 2010, SBNC was the medical home for over 17,000 unduplicated patients with 75,000 total patient and health education visits.
SBNC's three Medical Clinics emphasize preventative strategies and provide a meaningful alternative to the severely overburdened County medical system for low-income patients. Medical services include Child Health and Disability Prevention exams (CHDP), well-baby care, pediatric care, teen check-ups and health education, immunizations, adult sick and well exams, cancer detection services, geriatric care, podiatry, family planning and supplies. SBNC also provides services for chronic conditions such as asthma, hypertension, ADHD, pre-diabetes and diabetes.
SBNC's Eastside Family Dental Clinic primarily serves children, and also offers adult emergency pain and swelling services and homeless dental services. SBNC is the ONLY agency (public or private) in Santa Barbara County that provides free and sliding-scale dental services to low-income children, adults and the homeless.
SBNC's Health Promotion Center provides over free, bilingual health education classes and trainings, including asthma management, pre-diabetes and diabetes prevention and managements, stress management, HIV/AIDS and STD education and testing, teen health advocacy, Hispanic women's health advocacy, etc. Health education is a key component to changing unhealthy behaviors and improving the overall health and well-being of low-income and uninsured families.
SBNC provides services to patients regardless of their ability to pay or eligibility for health care coverage. On average, it costs SBNC $154.00 per patient visit; however, on average we only receive $65.00 in payments and reimbursements for each visit. SBNC fills this funding gap through grants and donations.
Providing preventative and critical heath care and education to the low-income, homeless and uninsured population of Santa Barbara increases the health and financial stability of the entire Santa Barbara community. SBNC's programs and services keep patients out of the emergency room for preventable ailments and decreases school and work absenteeism. In addition, SBNC treats the whole person and prioritizes health education and early intervention, improving our patients' overall self-management skills, health and quality of life.
We encourage our patients and our community to partake in healthy living with preventative programs, services, and education. Above all we provide quality healthcare you can depend on, from our family to yours.
Send this picture as a postcard
# # # #
Send this picture as a postcard
# # # #
Send this picture as a postcard
# # # #
Send this picture as a postcard
# # # #
Be the first to comment on this article.
# # # #
|
