When communities vote, they influence policy decisions that have a big effect on their health.
Born out of the Civil Rights movement, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), known interchangeably as Community Health Centers (CHCs), are community-based organizations that provide comprehensive primary care and social services. Serving as one of the most trusted FQHCs in San Diego County, San Ysidro Health’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of the communities it serves with access for all. Since 1969, San Ysidro Health (SYHealth) has been committed to providing healthcare services to the communities most in need. Serving approximately 110,000 patients across San Diego County, of which 80 percent of the patients live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level – addressing the root cause of health disparities is necessary.
Healthcare providers have a special opportunity to make a difference given their proximity to people negatively affected by inequalities. Providing critical health services, functioning as a trusted institution of care, and developing deep relationships with the communities it serves have always been a priority for SYHealth. Many patients who receive services at FQHCs are often young, uninsured or people of color: the same groups who traditionally vote in low numbers.
SYHealth acknowledges that providing care in a clinical setting is not the start of a patient’s healthcare journey. In an effort to continue making a lasting impact on the health outcomes of the people it serves, in 2020 SYHealth joined the nonpartisan My Vote. My Health. campaign spearheaded by AltaMed Health Services in Los Angeles. The campaign leverages the trust that healthcare providers have with their patients to increase civic participation for people who are eligible to vote and encourages voting at every election cycle – providing information so that voters can make informed decisions on issues that impact their health and the overall health of the community they live and work in.
Since joining the My Vote. My Health. campaign, SYHealth has successfully increased voter participation by 13 percent in the 2020 general election. As a trusted community partner, people look to SYHealth when it comes to making decisions that impact their health and the doctor is prescribing all communities to vote in the upcoming November election.
Public policy shapes California’s health system – influencing accessibility to healthcare, secure housing, healthy food, quality of education and employment all of which impact the outcomes of health for communities across San Diego County. The health of communities across San Diego County depends on YOUR vote. To learn more about SYHealth’s My Vote. My Health. campaign visit www.syhealth.org.
