Four new health clinics are expected to serve marginalized groups in the Inland Empire by the end of the year.
The Los Angeles-based group, St. John’s Community Health, a group of nonprofit health centers, is opening four clinics, with primary health care services, dental care and transgender-specific healthcare, in the Inland Empire.
The group is the largest provider of healthcare to undocumented immigrants in the country, President and CEO Jim Mangia said.
For Mangia, expanding into the Inland Empire was about making care accessible to low-income people, undocumented immigrants, people of color and those experiencing homelessness.
“There’s a significant lack of services and access for people in the IE and there’s a tremendous amount of need,” said Mangia, who added that the clinics’ services will be free.
About 70% of low-income families lack access to health care in the Inland Empire, Mangia said.
He wants to change that.
Most of the clinics will open by the end of the year, a news release states. By the end of 2023, the clinics are expected to serve 20,000 people and more than 30,000 by 2024.
The locations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties will include:
- 1500 N. Waterman Ave., San Bernardino
- 1821 S. San Jacinto Ave., San Jacinto
- 46883 Monroe St., Indio
- 82025 Highway 111, Indio
The San Bernardino and San Jacinto centers will be open about September, while the Indio centers will begin serving patients next year, Mangia said. However, Indio in November will be getting four mobile clinics, vans that will offer the same services as a clinic with four walls, while the clinics are being renovated, he said.
St. John’s Community Health serves those who are transitioning out of incarceration. It also has a street medicine program that travels to homeless encampments, riverbeds and shelters, Mangia said.
The health group goes beyond traditional healthcare services by providing homeless people with showers and access to food and laundry services, he said.
Transgender-specific healthcare services include hormone-replacement therapy, healthcare insurance enrollment, name and gender marker changes and behavioral and mental health care.
“We think that, you know, given the significant poverty in the Inland Empire, given the significant lack of services, we felt it was important that we began to expand east of LA,” Mangia said.
Matt Bates, executive vice president for City Net, a nonprofit organization that does homeless outreach, said this kind of healthcare is important and valuable for the homeless population.
“We’re excited by this news because one of the things our team has to do is connect people to resources,” Bates said.
Having free healthcare resources for homeless people in the Inland Empire can make a huge difference, Bates said.
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