Thursday, January 2, 2025
1/2/2025
Harbor Community Clinic dba Harbor Community Health Centers (HarborCHC) proposes to expand access to high-quality health services in San Pedro, California, by adding 14 hours per week to our operating hours. HarborCHC offers wraparound, whole-person care in a patient-centered medical home to our target population of low-income individuals in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County (LAC), service planning area (SPA) 8. Our goal is to increase access to comprehensive, high-quality health care for underserved people in our area. Funds will support salaries for project staff, such as physicians, medical assistants and support staff. The need for affordable, accessible health care in our immediate service area is significant. In 2023, we served 7,367 individuals through 30,271 patient visits. However, in our primary service area of San Pedro, there are 14,468 low-income individuals who are not served by a federally qualified health center (FQHC). Moreover, within our broader service area, of the low-income individuals who delayed or didn’t get medical care, 36% reported the primary reason as the health care system, provider issues or other barriers (including barriers related to hours and access). Although many people need primary and behavioral health care in SPA 8, there are limited low- or no-cost options available. Our service area encompasses multiple federally designated Medically Underserved Areas, indicating a shortage of primary care health services. The patients we intend to serve through this program — nearly all of whom are low-income — face many added obstacles to accessing quality care, including language barriers, stigma and lack of trust in providers. There is also a severe lack of providers in our service area: the majority of our service area is designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area, areas designated by the Health Resources and Services Administration as having a shortage of primary care, dental and/or mental heal th providers. Through landscape analyses, patient surveys, patient councils and more, we determined that expanding hours on weeknights and adding a full day of service on Saturdays would help us better serve our patient population. In these expanded hours, we will offer care for both primary care and behavioral health services at our primary site at 593 West 6th St., San Pedro, CA 90731. Appointments will be available for adults. These appointments will allow patients to receive preventive and primary medical care, family planning, routine disease screening, intensive chronic conditions management, immunizations, mental health screening and counseling, substance abuse screening and referral and more. Because HarborCHC offers services across the care continuum, we will also be able to connect our patients and their families with supplementary care and specialized services during our existing operating hours — including dental care, pediatric care, podiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, case management, health insurance eligibility assistance, care coordination, community outreach and transportation services to help address gaps in access and promote long-term health. We anticipate that those we will serve through this project will closely reflect the demographics of HarborCHC’s current patient population. We serve low-income residents of the cities of San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City, Lomita, Carson and Long Beach. In 2023, 97% of those we served lived in households at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level, 12% were uninsured and 68% had Medi-Cal. Approximately 76% of our patients identify as a racial and/or ethnic minority, including 65% who identify as Latinx. HarborCHC prioritizes inclusive, equitable care. Because many of our patients speak Spanish as their primary language, we employ staff who are bilingual in English and Spanish. Our services are culturally affirming, trauma-informed and offered on a sliding fee scale.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).