JWCH Institute has partnered with Los Angeles County and the Weingart Center Association, along with several other community organizations, in an unprecedented effort to substantially change the way we provide services to residents of the Skid Row area. Following are highlights of the project:
Construction of a new, state-of-the-art 20,000 sq. ft. Community Health Center, to be located one-half block from the current Weingart Clinic. Construction will be complete March 2009. [view design]
- The new site allows a high level of integration with numerous Los Angeles County departments including health services, public health, mental health, and public social services. Services across County departments are rarely co-located, and joint planning will ensure integration of services as opposed to just co-location of services. [view floor plan]
- The model we are proposing calls for services on Skid Row to be integrated across disciplines, sectors, and institutions at a level previously unknown in homeless services provision. Our goal of one chart/one record per patient across services indicates unprecedented change and collaboration.
- This collaboration between JWCH Institute and Los Angeles County is extraordinary in that the County has committed resources to this facility, as well as the placement of professional staff as part of the integrated delivery system, for up to 25 years.
While Los Angeles County’s estimated homeless population is the largest in the nation, our model of health care for this population is not as fully developed as other localities. Great models exist in Boston and San Francisco, and while our model builds on these, it is uniquely Angeleno. It will transform how homeless services are coordinated and delivered, especially in light of the partnerships that have built a continuum of care that begins with street outreach and healthcare services, and extends through to vocational training and permanent housing.
This model will work closely with the Single Room Occupancy Hotels and providers of permanent supportive housing in the area, consisting of more than 30 buildings in close proximity to the Health Center. The model will engage and enroll residents of Skid Row Housing Trust and SRO Housing into the comprehensive accessible system of care, whereby the Health Center will become the medical home for many of these residents. We will continue to operate mobile teams off-site in these facilities so as to engage residents in accessing the services of the new Health Center, and provide for a level of support services in these permanent and supportive housing facilities.
We are currently engaged in a capital campaign to raise funds for operations of the first 36 months of the new Health Center. This capital will be associated with one-time and move-in costs, as well as the increase in key staffing areas to complete the fully-integrated system of care. Our plan calls for an initial infusion of additional private sector funds, which decreases as the clinic’s census and enrollment grows, enhancing opportunities to capture public funding.
To this end, we respectfully seek the opportunity to partner with your foundation to achieve the goals of the Health Center.
Thank you again for your time and interest.
