By Matt Sumethasorn
Since January of 2017, Doctors Without Walls has been part of a multiagency collaborative called the HACC project. Spearheaded by the Housing Authority, the Health Access and Care Coordination project or HACC, aims to connect MediCal recipients in low-income or Section 8 housing to services such as healthcare andbehavioral health providers. Under this CenCal funded program, local health and outreach organizations including Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics, New Beginnings, Doctors Assisting Seniors at Home, PathPoint, and Doctors Without Walls will be working together in a conjoined effort to provide better access to health and outreach services for the community.
Doctors Without Walls provides pop-up clinics every month at chosen Housing Authority properties. Here, residents can check in at our medical tent to consult with our volunteer providers or just get their blood pressure taken. With our team of healthcare providers and medical supplies, we can provide on-the-spot services for our patient’s acute medical needs. We provide free medical services and are able to write prescriptions for the medications that we have on hand. Patients with chronic needs can be treated by our Companion Care services, which help to connect patients to a primary care physician. SBNC, our partner in this collaborative, can also provide home visits and help follow up with residents whose needs demand closer management.
Under the HACC project, Doctors Without Walls will work to enhance partnerships with other community healthcare providers to arrange site-based services using our new mobile clinic. This multi-agency collaboration will allow us to reach a new patient population and provide our much needed services to the medically vulnerable.
