[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21766]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



 SAN YSIDRO HEALTH CENTER--HONORING THE PAST, LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 15, 1999

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the San Ysidro Health 
Center and the 30 years it has been contributing to the health of my 
community. From humble beginnings as a volunteer grassroots program run 
out of a house on the property where the present 50,000-square foot 
medical center now operates, the center has grown with satellite 
clinics in Chula Vista and National City. It serves 37,000 people now 
and has a budget of $17 million.
   Mr. Speaker, today is a day for looking back and honoring the 
pioneers who started this amazing caring center and the visionaries who 
use this firm foundation to provide even greater services to the people 
of the South Bay area of San Diego County.
  Thirty years ago, Elena Savala and 10 other members of the Club de 
las Madres decided they needed more than one doctor to serve the 700 
residents of San Ysidro at that time. Although they spoke little 
English and had little formal education, they approached the University 
of California at San Diego for assistance. In a little house that the 
City of San Diego donated, volunteer health care professionals began to 
offer services for the nominal fee of $1.
  The eleven women formed the center's first Board of Directors. In 
1972 they hired another forward-thinking and committed health care 
warrior, Gabriel Arce, to direct the center. Under his leadership, the 
health center moved from a small trailer to the original clinic, a 
modern building with six examining rooms. The center continued to grow 
and in 1980 made an historic leap--it created the Community Health 
Group, the only health maintenance organization (HMO) in the State of 
California with an all MediCal (Medicaid) caseload.
  Today, the San Ysidro Health Center provides primary care, dental 
care, social services, nutrition counseling, laboratory services and a 
pharmacy. Beyond its three primary health care clinics in San Ysidro, 
Chula Vista and National City, its mental health component, the 
Behavioral Health Group, operates an extensive countywide mental health 
network that treats children, adolescents and adults in the communities 
of San Ysidro, Chula Vista, San Diego, Santee and San Marcos.
  Of the center's 37,000 patients, 70 percent live at or below the 
poverty level, 77 percent are women, 30 percent are children under the 
age of 12 and 60 percent are on MediCal, Medicare or receive County 
Medical Services.
  The grassroots flavor of the center remains alive--many patients 
later come to work for the center, inspired to pursue health-related 
careers by the care they see offered there.
  That inspiration promises to continue. The current forward-looking 
Board of Directors, lead by President Macario Gutierrez, has involved 
the center in a partnership with Scripps Family Practice Residency 
Program. The residency program will be offered at the Chula Vista 
Family Clinic, one of the two satellite clinics. It is all of our hope 
that some of the San Ysidro Health Center's patients of today will 
become the doctors of tomorrow, inspired by the access to and 
commitment of this unique residency program.
  This partnership is born out of the California Area Health Education 
Center Program. This program was established in 1972 to form 
partnerships between California's schools of medicine and local 
organizations throughout the state. The program established a special 
border outreach unit. The partnership with the San Ysidro Health Center 
allows the program to continue and expand its opportunities to 
emphasize care for our Latino population and the special demands of 
health care along the border. The program trains doctors to work in 
areas which do not have adequate health care coverage.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask you join with me in honoring the vision, and 
quality health care that San Ysidro Health Center has offered over the 
past 30 years and that I am sure they will offer for the next 30 years 
with their special partners. The center's unique blend of commitment to 
our community and involvement of residents in providing the highest 
quality health care deserves to be emulated nationwide.

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