Ensuring Access to Healthcare in the Pájaro Valley
From a Dream, to Reality
We recently joined in celebrating the completion of Salud Para La Gente’s (Salud) $5.5 million Clínica del Valle renovation, a monumental project years in the making that was made possible by the generosity of community members and organizations committed to ensuring access to healthcare for all residents of the Pájaro Valley and beyond.
Dozens of supporters and elected officials came together on a warm late summer evening to toast over delicious pupusas and cold drinks, and to get a chance to tour the gleaming new facilities. Operating on the former site of an elder day care on the campus of Watsonville Community Hospital, Clínica Del Valle is bright, welcoming, and adorned with beautiful local artwork and soothing paint tones.
Since 1978, the organization has provided quality healthcare for the South County community, tracing their origins back to a single free clinic offering healthcare primarily to farmworker families. Now, Salud has become a federally qualified health center (FQHC) offering a variety of services to nearly 27,000 patients across five clinics and four school-based health centers.
Local Response
The passing of the H.R. 1 legislation (Big Beautiful Bill Act) has not only reduced access to healthcare for the most vulnerable, but providers like Salud have also seen their revenue slashed by the drop in patients. Clínica del Valle is projected to double patient visits and add urgent care services, while helping to offset Salud’s losses.
Just a few years after taking the helm as CEO of Salud, Donna Young and her staff dared to dream big and proposed an ambitious capital campaign for the expansion to serve our community better than they’d done before. This courage in the face of adversity comes with knowing that you can count on those who care deeply about the Pájaro Valley to step up.
“Tonight, I'm feeling hope, joy, and a deep sense of gratitude for each one of you, and for this community. You are the light that we need to get through this period, when we most need it, and this beautiful expansion that many of you helped fund is a bright spot in these otherwise turbulent times,” Donna said at the reception.
The Community Foundation was an early supporter and helped rally a number of lead gifts towards their $5 million goal. This vision come to life is exactly who we are, and we are proud to support this, and other endeavors born out of love for our community.
As the reception wrapped up, Donna led the crowd in a toast that boomed through the walls of Clínica Del Valle:
“¡Salud!”
Mending the Net
In the face of federal policy shifts that continue to impact our local safety net, the expansion of Salud Para La Gente’s Clinica Del Valle represents a stake in the ground for how our local nonprofits respond and show up for our community.
This month’s installment of “Mending the Net,” a new KAZU reporting series exploring how H.R. 1 is affecting Santa Cruz County and the local response, features an interview with Salud’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Devon Francis.
We’re proud to sponsor this five-part series to help our community better understand the work ahead for nonprofit leaders on the front lines of issues including health care, food security, legal services, and climate resilience.
Tune into this month’s segment airing during Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and make sure to check out the longer video and the previous installment featuring Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Erica Padilla-Chavez.
