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Introducing United Indian Health Services Dental Program

Introducing United Indian Health Services Dental Program

In the face of overwhelming urbanization, Vesper Society cares about what happens in rural areas. This is why we support United Indian Health Services (UIHS), which has been providing comprehensive healthcare to Native American communities in remote Northwest California for over 40 years. UIHS runs two large clinics in Arcata (Humboldt County) and Crescent City (Del Norte County). Even with these two clinics serving the more populated towns in a very remote region, some residents still needed to travel three hours each way for a one-hour appointment. Committed to making quality healthcare more accessible, UIHS established a smaller satellite health center in Weitchpec offering weekly medical services. The location is a cultural hub for the Yurok Tribe and a convenient location for those who live along the upper Klamath River. The Native American Oral Health Care Project reports that dental decay is 300 times more likely in the American Indian population than it is in the general U.S. population. Recognizing a medical need not met by their current offerings, UIHS goes above and beyond to provide dental services. Twice a year, staff members pack up dental chairs, equipment, and computers and drive a narrow two-lane road through the mountains to set up shop at the Libby Nix Community Center in Weitchpec. They live there for two weeks, providing much-needed dental services like exams, fillings, extractions, cleanings, and oral hygiene instructions. Tribal government leaders keenly understand the oral health crisis in their communities, and UIHS is working closely with the tribes to provide more consistent and comprehensive dental services to this community. Vesper Society admires UIHS’s approach in linking arms with leaders of overlooked communities to create a healthy future. We are honored to support these important long-term solutions that take us one step closer to realizing the potential for... Read More

Reflections on Serving A Rural Church and Community

Reflections on Serving A Rural Church and Community

Vesper Society links arms with leaders of overlooked communities that want to create a healthy future. This month, we asked Pastor Ron Griffen from the First United Methodist Church in Imperial County, California, to reflect on what it means to be a church in a rural setting. His perspective offers a glimpse into what is possible if each one of us reaches out with love to our neighbor. For the past eight years, I have served a rural church and community. Rural settings are different from urban and suburban ones. To begin, rural communities have less access to resources. Living and working “under the radar” can be both a blessing and a curse. As a pastor, I’ve noticed that the institutional church seems to question the importance of rural churches. Case in point: At our Annual Conference two years ago, we were in small groups discussing issues facing the church, and I offered my two cents worth. One of my colleagues asked, “Does the Bishop know how you feel about this?” I answered, “I don’t think the Bishop knows where I am.” To which my colleague responded, “Where are you?” For the record, I’m in El Centro. My position here has led me to understand that the role of church in society—especially in a rural setting—has three essential tasks. Focus primarily on the needs of one’s own community. Collaborate whenever and wherever you can. Remember that ALL the important work of the church is done locally. The last task is the hardest for many of us. We want to save the world. The problem is that thinking only of the big picture means we run the risk of never saving anything. Here’s an example:  Our church’s young group had planted and tended to a small garden. I saw how... Read More

Women’s Community Clinic Merging with HealthRIGHT 360

Women’s Community Clinic Merging with HealthRIGHT 360

Vesper Society is committed to finding long-term solutions that improve the health and well-being of overlooked communities. In the Bay Area, low-income women and girls was one such overlooked community. One of the organizations serving this community is Women’s Community Clinic (the Clinic). As one of the only local safety net clinics in the Bay Area focused on women’s health, the Clinic believes that women have the right to make their own decisions about their health and has been providing high-quality health services since 1999. For women—both female-born or female-identified—who can’t get care anywhere else, the Clinic is a sanctuary of high-quality, affordable care. The Clinic’s services include primary care, sexual and reproductive health, and—with support from Vesper Society—in-house mental health counseling, an urgent need among its clients. The Clinic sees over 4,000 clients each year; over 90% of whom make less than $25,000 annually. In addition to these clinical services, the Clinic provides an outreach program that provides resources and support to women facing homelessness and an innovative workforce development program that provides on-the-job training and career preparation for aspiring health professionals. These adaptive solutions offer a stepping stone into the Bay Area’s quickly-growing career sectors and helps foster a new generation of providers who are committed to judgment-free, culturally sensitive health care. These services are more important than ever. With proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act and cutbacks in other federal health care programs, safety net clinics like these are now under threat. Thousands of women in the Bay Area risk losing their access to health care. Earlier this year, the Clinic faced a significant funding gap when it lost a federal grant that had been essential to its operations. Knowing that further cuts in government funding are likely at a time when women will need... Read More

Mobile Dental Services Improve the Health and Well-Being of Youth

Mobile Dental Services Improve the Health and Well-Being of Youth

Vesper Society believes in a simple idea: a just society begins when everyone is well and everyone is respected as a human being. We look for creative ways to serve overlooked communities. We don’t have prescribed formulas for solving complex social issues. We actively listen, we are flexible, and we adapt our approach to each situation so that every community we support receives what it really needs for maximum impact. One way we have done this is by supporting the work of the Mobile Dental Clinic serving Contra Costa County youth. It is well understood that poor oral health can have a life-long impact on one’s overall health. Yet many people lack access to quality dental care. This is especially true in communities of color, communities whose members often don’t speak English, and low-income communities. Poor oral health can also prevent a child’s success in school, and tooth decay is one of the most common chronic illnesses for school-age children. In 2004, the Dental Collaborative of Contra Costa set out to improve children’s oral health and encourage proper oral hygiene. The Dental Collaborative, a joint partnership between John Muir Health, La Clinica de La Raza, Lifelong Medical Care, and Contra Costa Public Health, provides free dental services to children and youth without insurance and those with limited access to dental services in Contra Costa County, California. For maximum flexibility and to better serve more community members, services are provided on a mobile dental clinic called the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile. The Ronald McDonald Care Mobile provides services in elementary and middle schools, Head Start Centers, First 5 Centers, juvenile facilities, and other community sites. Dental services range from cleanings, fluorides, and sealants, to major restorative procedures. Over the past 13 years, the Mobile Dental Clinic has completed 14,807 visits,... Read More

La Clínica Provides Essential Services to Oakland Students

La Clínica Provides Essential Services to Oakland Students

Vesper Society is committed to improving the health and well-being of youth and families. One way we do this is by supporting La Clinica de La Raza in Oakland, CA. La Clinica de La Raza works to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities they serve by providing culturally appropriate, high-quality, and accessible health care for all. Their eight School Based Health Centers (SBHCs) enroll students in a variety of services to meet their varied health care needs. In addition, students receive comprehensive assessments and health education counseling and are taught about things like nutrition, healthy relations, and reproductive health. Beyond health care, youth are welcomed and trained in leadership and self-efficacy that supports their ongoing success. As a partner with the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, La Clinica provides culturally and linguistically appropriate health services to over 5,700 children and youth annually. Students visit the SBHCs for a variety of reasons: perhaps their grades have dropped, they have disclosed self-harm, or a physician has determined the patient is experiencing traumatic symptoms. The SBHCs use a fully integrated clinical model that takes any path necessary to identify and address trauma and other behavioral health needs. Many youth in East Oakland experience multiple and continuous traumas and stressors, including family trauma, stress of immigration, unstable housing, and the continuous trauma of community violence. As a result of these ongoing stressors, young people in this community are more susceptible to anxiety, depression and self-harm. To address this challenge, La Clinica opened the SBHC at Havenscourt in East Oakland 2011. Vesper Society’s support has allowed La Clinica to expand their services by hiring a full-time behavioral health clinician. The program is a huge success. Since 2014, almost one in six students has received behavioral health services at the SBHC,... Read More

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