Sarah Cardin
Daily Pilot
COSTA MESA, Calif. — After CalOptima Health officials announced in January that a new street health program would provide on-site medical care to homeless people in Costa Mesa, vans outfitted with medical equipment and service providers are ready to hit the road.
Orange County Health Plan leaders joined city of Costa Mesa officials Wednesday at the Norma Hertzog Community Center in Costa Mesa to introduce the public to the program and the newly selected service provider, Celebrating Life Community Health Center.
The Mission Viejo-based nonprofit operates six clinics and wellness centers across the county, including a facility in Costa Mesa, and was recently tapped by CalOptima to provide medical care out of custom-built vehicles that have been converted into mobile exam rooms.
Advertisement The van, a mobile clinic, already makes regular trips to neighborhoods known for congregating people who need primary care doctors, specialists and mental health providers but lack the resources to access that care.
“Homelessness is a complex issue that requires complex solutions,” Kelly Bruno Nelson, executive director of CalOptima Health Medical and CAL, said in an interview ahead of Wednesday's meeting.
“Our street health approach is a proactive program, so we identify people and provide them with a continuum of care. A lot of times that's not possible when you're living on the streets.”
In addition to providing primary care, the mobile van and its team of health care workers and peer navigators will help enroll clients in programs that assist with housing locations, transportation needs and behavioral health services.
In Costa Mesa, the first point of contact will be staff at Celebrating Life Community Health Center, an organization that has served 11,500 underserved and low-income residents throughout Orange County since 2018.
Dr. Sabrina Cooley, associate medical director for CLCHC and supervising physician for the Costa Mesa Street Medicine Program, said once the organization received the grant from CalOptima, leaders began searching for staff with just the right skill set to meet the needs of the clients they serve.
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In addition to certified lifelong and family nurse practitioners, the van will be staffed by one associate clinical social worker who can provide behavioral health counseling, one program manager, one street medicine program director and two peer navigators with lived experience who can reach patients and potential clients on a personal level.
“This team is passionate and ready to go,” Cooley said. “And what's incredible is they've already built all kinds of local partnerships with police and fire departments, shelters and homeless coalitions in Costa Mesa and the city. This is a collaborative effort.”
CalOptima Health piloted its first street health program in Garden Grove in March 2023 and has since served more than 300 low-income individuals and connected 15 people to housing vouchers or permanent housing.
“They're the hardest people to reach, the ones people people often give up on,” Bruno Nelson said of the program's clients.
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In addition to Costa Mesa, CalOptima is working to build a program in Anaheim to meet the specific needs of that community, and the health plan's leaders believed Costa Mesa would be the perfect location for the growing program because the city has already made significant investments in tackling homelessness.
The agency will cover costs to start up the program, but the state will reimburse it for care for patients with Medicare, ultimately creating a self-sustaining funding model. Bruno Nelson said the goal is to enroll 150 patients in the first 18 months.
Costa Mesa Mayor John Stevens did not attend Wednesday's event, but in a separate interview said the new program not only aligns with the city's core values of compassion, but is also a perfect introduction to its other community service programs.
“Having someone who provides health care is the gateway to refer people to our housing services,” he said, “so it all works together as a continuum of care to get people to a place where they're healthy and safe.”
(c)2024 The Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa, California
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