WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) on Monday announced that Ventura-based Clinicas Del Camino Real has been awarded two grants totaling nearly $3.2 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fund renovation and construction projects at its Ventura County clinics.
The funding, which was made available by the Affordable Care Act, is part of more $122 million in grants awarded to California community health centers for renovation and construction projects. Combined, these projects will help them serve an estimated 170,000 new patients, Capps reported in the media release.
“Clinicas Del Camino Real provides affordable, quality primary care to so many underserved residents in our local communities,” Capps stated in the release. “Expanding the reach of the community clinics like Clinicas is just one of the important ways that the health care law is increasing access to care on the Central Coast. We know that there are many who still lack access to quality, affordable care. That is why investments in building new clinics and expanding existing ones are so important—we need to make sure that our health care system is equipped to treat more patients.”
“President Obama’s health care law is making our community health centers stronger. For many Americans, community health centers are the major source of care that ranges from prevention to treatment of chronic diseases. This investment will expand our ability to provide high-quality care to millions of people while supporting good paying jobs in communities across the country,” U.S. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stated in the release.
Both the Affordable Care Act and American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have made significant investments in community health centers to expand access to affordable primary care in underserved areas across the country, Capps said. On the Central Coast, portions of Ventura County, including Oxnard have been designated as an area in need of greater access to primary medical, dental, and behavioral healthcare.
Clinicas serves nearly 60,000 patients seeking medical, dental, optical, preventive, prenatal, and mental health care with multiple locations in Oxnard, along with clinics in Santa Paula, Fillmore, Newbury Park, Simi Valley and Ojai.