Desert Healthcare District & IEHP Partner to Spotlight Coachella Valley Services
(Sponsored Content)
When the first COVID-19 case appeared in early 2020 in the Coachella Valley, the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation was prepared to implement a new collaborative approach to healthcare and prevention that the virus would require. The Healthcare District had long recognized its support of and relationships with Coachella Valley nonprofits and other agencies as essential to successfully realizing its mission “to achieve optimal health at all stages of life for all District residents.”
It’s that same collaborative spirit that compels the Healthcare District to actively support Connect IE, a great community resource provided through the Inland Empire Health Plan. The website, connectie.org, allows anyone to search for free or reduced-cost services including medical care, food assistance, job training, behavioral healthcare, and more – by simply entering a search topic and ZIP Code to generate the services that are nearest.
Prior to this new partnership, the Healthcare District had provided funding and other resources to many community partners. After leasing its hospital to a healthcare services company in the late 1990s, the Healthcare District prioritized and accelerated community outreach beyond the Palm Springs hospital campus. This outreach primarily took the form of awarding grants to local programs and services that advanced valley health and wellness. But it also included initiatives, such as:
• Enrolling uninsured and underinsured valley residents to benefit from the Affordable Care Act;
• Working with various stakeholders to improve poor air quality and related health issues in eastern Coachella Valley;
• Commissioning a behavioral health needs assessment of the entire Coachella Valley;
• Supporting residents’ training and the execution of a community health needs assessment in Desert Highland Gateway Estates Neighborhood, a traditionally Black community in northern Palm Springs; and
• Teaching third-graders to swim as well as take care of themselves nutritionally.
While the intended results of these initiatives are far-reaching and seemingly unrelated, collaboration is the single thread connecting them. Whether an initiative starts with the Healthcare District recognizing a need or another organization submitting a grant application, it requires buy-in from multiple stakeholders and residents to have the desired positive impact.
Committed to thwarting the effects of the coronavirus, the Healthcare District and Foundation Board and CEO Dr. Conrado Bárzaga responded by providing Personal Protective Equipment, tests and grant funds to partners in need. The collaboration was formalized in 2020 when the District and Foundation established the Coachella Valley Equity Collaborative (CVEC) with the support of Riverside County Public Health, to deliver a COVID-19 response to underserved residents like farmworkers, seniors, and students and their families through eight community-based and faith-based organizations.
CVEC has grown to include over 25 partners during the past two years. To date, the Collaborative has provided more than 13,300 COVID-19 tests at local clinics, about 800 COVID-19 at-home or self-tests, and more than 45,456 COVID-19 vaccines. And the work continues to provide protection against COVID-19 in its latest variations.
Learn more at dhcd.org.
