One year after the El Cajon Urgent and Cardiac Care Center opened its doors, more than 24,000 new patients have sought help for a wide range of illnesses and health conditions.
According to Fran Butler-Cohen, CEO of Family Health Centers of San Diego, the El Cajon center has surpassed two year’s worth of goals in its first year – in the number of patients served and reduction in trips to emergency rooms.
Among the ailments treated at the center since its July 2023 opening – chest pains, heart palpitations, atrial fibrillation, vascular and heart disease, hypertensive crisis, infections of all kinds and COVID-19.
The growth rate of patients has been “mind blowing,” Butler-Cohen said in a news release. Her organization, San Diego County’s largest health system serving low-income residents, operates the care center, part of El Cajon Family Health Center.
“Word-of-mouth about the urgent and cardiac care services available here has created explosive growth,” Butler-Cohen said.
Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan provided a $1 million grant for the center. Kristen Cerf, CEO and president of Blue Shield Promise, said the nonprofit health plan had two goals in mind in providing support in El Cajon.
“The first was to improve access to urgent medical care and cardiology services for patients in San Diego’s underserved East County area,” she said. “The second was to reduce avoidable emergency room visits and hospital readmissions within 30 days of patients being discharged. We’re pleased to see our support is making a meaningful difference in improved access to care for people living in the region.”
Data collected by Family Health Centers indicates that the new urgent care center has reduced avoidable hospital emergency room visits for more than 6,300 patients, leading to a reduction in healthcare costs.
“Simply put, Blue Shield Promise’s $1 million investment breaks down to costing about $41 a visit for each of our patients —a very inexpensive way to keep patients out of an emergency room,” Butler-Cohen said.
Here’s details of center patients as delineated by age and other demographics:
- They are ethnically diverse – Latino, White, Black, Asian and American Indian.
- More women use both the urgent and cardiac care services than men.
- The majority of patients seeking cardiac care are between 30 to 69 years old, with those who are 40 to 69 years old comprising the largest group.
- For urgent medical care, children from newborns through 17 years old and young adults ages 18-29 are the largest groups.
Harris Niazi, MD, assistant medical director, urgent care, and one of the physicians at the El Cajon clinic, said he has come full circle.
“I came to America as a child refugee from Afghanistan. Now, as a doctor here in El Cajon, I’ve had the rewarding opportunity to assist newly arrived Afghan refugees with their acute needs and connect them to our primary care system,” he said.
Blue Shield Promise’s initial grant enabled Family Health Centers to purchase high-tech medical equipment for imaging and mammography, provide much-needed services to local residents and reduce months of waiting time for patients.
“We are known and trusted healthcare organizations who support healthy families and communities,” Butler-Cohen said. “People see our names on this building, know we will take care of them and they pull right into our parking lot.”