2015 in Review: We Reached More Patients Than Ever Before
We have so much to be proud of! With the support of our funders and partners, and the tireless efforts of our staff and volunteers, we expanded our services significantly in 2015. As a result, last year, we reached more patients than ever before.
The Numbers
In 2015, Roots’ patient base grew to 8788 people, from newborns to our older adults. We are increasing the number of visits we provide month over month – in 2015 we provided more than 7000 medical visits, and are on track to provide many more in the coming year.
We also helped 573 patients apply for Medi-Cal and 478 patients apply for CalFresh.
Our new pediatrics practice
In June, we acquired an established community pediatric practice in Fruitvale Village (2700 International Blvd. #11). Now called Roots Pediatrics, this new addition to our services furthers our goal to preserve all points of access in the community to culturally competent care.
New partnerships in Santa Clara County
We’re thrilled to report that we’re growing into the South Bay! The Roots-Ujima Collaborative in Santa Clara County kicked off benefits enrollment services in 2015 and we’re planning to add clinical and workforce services in 2016.
HealthyMeasures expands
For HealthyMeasures, 2015 saw an expansion of the program to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin. HealthyMeasures engages clients before they are released from incarceration and links them with a Roots peer Health Navigator immediately upon release. At the new site, we work with Centerforce, a community-based organization that delivers peer health education programs, and Corizon, the medical provider at Santa Rita, to coordinate education/enrollment meetings with clients, initiate Medi-Cal enrollment, and obtain contact information to ensure inmates are connected to our services and begin receiving care at our facilities upon release.
The Emancipators Initiative continues to grow
2015 was the second year of our Emancipators Initiative workforce development pilot funded by Alameda County Social Services Agency. The program provides re-entry populations with job training and support through our social enterprise, Clean360, that makes and sells all natural soap. With learnings from 2014 under our belt, we made a number of changes to further perfect the program design. This included the implementation of new support mechanisms to help program participants, or Emancipators, further overcome barriers to employment. As a result, we were able to hire and train 19 new participants.
Most significantly, this year’s cohort of Emancipators helped open our new Clean360 retail location at 40th Street & Broadway just before the holidays. Check out our new video of Emancipators talking about their experiences at Clean360.
In the news
Last but certainly not least, while this happened just this week, we wanted to be sure to share the recent coverage our Street Outreach Medical Team (STOMP) received in the Oakland Tribune. Read Tammerlin Drummond’s article “Homeless doc takes stethoscope to the streets.” (video included)
So far, 2016 is off to a great start and we have much more in the works to ensure that as many East Bay residents as possible have access to support and care they need. We’ll be in touch with continued updates and stories of success. Here’s to a healthy new year!
Sincerely,
Noha Aboelata, MD
CEO, Roots Community Health
P.S. Save the Date! We are hosting an open house at the Clean360 factory and retail location on Friday, March 25. Invitations and more details to come.