Anyone with most types of health insurance can expect outstanding illness treatment, preventative care and behavioral services at El Dorado Community Health Centers (EDCHC). The difference? Patients without health insurance can expect the same thing. “Our mission is to serve the community, especially those who are underserved and don’t have options to get health care,” says Terri Stratton, MPH, executive director for the network of primary care offices in Placerville, Diamond Springs and Cameron Park. “We serve everyone regardless of their ability to pay.” In 2006, EDCHC went through the process of becoming a federally qualified health center to help cover the costs. As a 501c3 designated nonprofit, EDCHC sources funds from a variety of grants and foundations.

 “I was premed in college and saw that I could have a greater effect on communities as a whole by going into public health,” says Stratton, who is extremely passionate about running the center—not only as a health care facility and a nonprofit organization—but also as a place where people learn to lead healthier lives. “It’s a gift to be able to live in a community that I love and to serve everyone. That I find very rewarding.” The centers offer regular classes on diabetes, self-care and prevention, with hopes to expand on classes that focus on dietary concerns, like healthy cooking.

 As participants in the statewide Every Woman Counts program, the centers provide free mammograms to underserved women. One patient who had not been to the doctor in several years and who was struggling to feed herself and her children was diagnosed with breast cancer. Onsite patient advocates were able to connect her with the right services—not just health care but food and transportation—so she could focus on her health. She’s now in remission.

On the horizon is further growth. “Dental is now considered by the federal government to be part of primary health,” explains Stratton. On October 15, 2015, EDCHC opened their first dental office in Cameron Park. “We are seeing patients like crazy,” Stratton says. “There has been a pent-up need for dental services with our patient base.” Due to the long wait-list, a second dentist will soon be added to the staff. At that same center, hours are being expanded to accommodate urgent care, as skipping a visit to the emergency room for certain after-hours situations saves everyone money and time.

 Diana Labelle-Kantola, outreach and communications director for EDCHC, often finds herself interacting with patients, looking for the one who might need extra help or to be referred to a patient advocate. “We take care of each other and our patients. There’s no time clock. We put our hearts into it,” says Labelle-Kantola, who experienced the benefits of that mentality herself. Ten years ago, she was a single mother working for the center as a receptionist. When she asked for more flexible hours so she could attend night classes, everyone at EDCHC encouraged her to complete her bachelor’s degree, paving the way for her current role. “It’s not ran like a business. It’s ran like a family,” she says.

edcchc.org

by Dayana Stockdale // photos by Dante Fontana