Sacramento

On April 24th, 2021, Elica Health Centers partnered with the Mexican Consulate of Sacramento, UC Davis Health, La Familia Counseling Center, Health Education Council, and Ventanilla de Salud (a program of the Health Education Council) to vaccinate the public.

We began slightly earlier than 9:00 am as there were dozens of cars lined up already!

It was a cloudy Saturday morning but everyone shined through the collaboration of teamwork, working together to serve the underserved and vulnerable community.

There were over 120 volunteers and 20 Elica staff members present on a Saturday morning. Many woke up as early as 5am to serve the community! We thank the volunteers for giving their time on a Saturday, providing help with vaccinations, paperwork, and guiding the cars successfully through the line.

The event was set to end at 1pm, but we continued to serve those who came later in the afternoon. By the end of the event, we provided 347 vaccines for the public.

For lunch, burritos were served from El Burrito Taqueria and the restaurant kindly donated chips and salsa.

If you got vaccinated at this event, please come back at the same time as your first appointment. We will see you again!

Did you see Elica on the news? Click here to view the piece KCRA 3 where our Elica staff were featured. UC Davis Health also wrote a piece where Elica was featured. Click here to read it!

Left to right: Liliana Ferrer (Cónsul General of the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento), Eric Guerra (District 6 Councilman), and Aidé Long, Director of Community Outreach at Elica.

Katia M. (Community Outreach Specialist at Elica Health Centers) with Liliana Ferrer.

Elica’s Mobile Medicine and Outreach team

CapRadio interviews Elica Health Centers

CapRadio News is an essential local news source reporting on Sacramento and its surrounding areas. During the month of May, Elica Health Centers made the commitment to ramp up efforts to reduce the spread of coronavirus among homeless and migrant worker populations by providing free COVID-19 testing with our mobile medicine operations. On Thursday, June 4th, CapRadio News’s Beth Ruyak spoke over the phone with Elica’s Outreach team about those initiatives. 

By collaborating with Sacramento County homeless shelters and the Mexican Consulate, Elica’s Mobile Medicine team was able to do COVID-19 testing for the homeless population and migrant workers in French Camp. Director of Community Outreach Services, Aide Long, and Outreach Specialist, Lynn Ly, gave some surprisingly good news regarding testing procedures, test results, and confidentiality.

Many of those debating whether or not to get tested, ask themselves about the discomfort of the testing procedure. Long stated that although the test can be somewhat uncomfortable, it isn’t painful and that people are pleased to discover it’s not as bad as they had imagined. Ly went on to reveal the results of 329 tests done among homeless individuals, migrants, and farm workers, that all turned out negative; “a glimmer of light in all of this” Ruyak added. Additionally, patient information is confidential and migratory and participation does not affect housing or migratory status in any way.

Ruyak shifted focus to inquire about the other services that Elica provides. Long noted that primary care services, counseling, and emergency dental services continue to be available in the clinics and mobile units. Then, Ruyak inquired about foreign language services for non-English speaking patients and test takers.  Ly spoke about the many bilingual staff members and ensured that services are provided in several languages to better serve the diverse communities of Sacramento and Yolo county.

We’d like to thank CapRadio for covering this story.
Click here to listen to the clip.

HOW1, one of Elica Health Centers’ mobile clinics, continues to provide free COVID-19 testing and basic medical care during the pandemic. During the entire month of June, you can find HOW1 outside the Consulate General of Mexico from 8:00am to 4:30pm providing free medical services and COVID-19 testing for adults. The Consulate is located 2093 Arena Blvd in Sacramento. Spanish language assistance is available and health insurance is not required. For more information and updates in Spanish, check out our Facebook page.

Free COVID-19 testing at the Consulate General of Mexico in Sacramento

“It’s so hard to come back from being homeless — people give up. It made a huge difference that the Pathways team kept talking to me.”

 

In the fall of 2018, Jimmie was living outside in downtown Sacramento with his dog Congo, sleeping at the post office. He knew there was something seriously wrong with his foot. His ankle was swollen and a painful infection that started in his toe was clearly visible. “I knew it was nasty,” he recalled. “People could tell that something wasn’t right.”

Jimmie is a diabetic and part of his other foot had already been removed due to complications from the disease. Based on his previous experience, he suspected that his infected toe would need to be amputated and he was scared. Even though he knew the infection could potentially kill him, he was reticent to seek help because it would mean leaving Congo behind.

“Congo is my everything,” he explained, choking up. “He’s like my baby — I’ve had him since he was four weeks old. He’s totally dependent on me and I didn’t want to leave him alone.”

A current Pathways client and former guest at the City’s Rehousing Shelter on Railroad Drive, Jimmie has a quiet voice and gentle eyes that light up when he smiles. He walks with a slight limp, relying on a cane. Three years ago, following a series of tragedies and setbacks, he found himself homeless. His mother had passed away in 2015 and shortly thereafter he lost his home in a fire. The fire not only destroyed his home and belongings, but his livelihood as well.

Not wanting to burden friends and family, Jimmie lived out of his car at first but he soon found himself and Congo on the streets. Through the Winter Sanctuary overflow program, he connected with Abram Nunn, a Physician’s Assistant with Elica Health Centers, a local community health center and Pathways “Hub” provider. Abram quickly connected him with Pathways where he connected with his multidisciplinary Pathways Team comprised of specialists from Elica Health Centers, Sacramento Covered, and Sacramento Self-Help Housing and was then referred to the City’s Rehousing Shelter.

The City shelter’s low-barrier policy allowing pets was key in convincing Jimmie to get help. “I wouldn’t have gone to the shelter if they hadn’t accepted dogs,” Jimmie explained. Once in the shelter, Elica Health Center’s Pathways team checked in with Jimmie every week, building his trust and slowly convincing him to get his foot taken of care. “Abram was hurting that I wouldn’t go to the hospital. He asked me, ‘What would happen to Congo if you died?’ That’s what convinced me to get it taken care of.”

In January 2019, Jimmie made the choice to have his foot examined. The Pathways team jumped into action. Elica Health Centers connected him with a podiatrist and arranged for his surgery. The City’s Front Street Animal Shelter agreed to safely kennel Congo while Jimmie was hospitalized and in post-acute rehabilitation. Jimmie’s housing specialist with Sacramento Self-Help Housing connected him with a Housing Choice Voucher and found him a temporary apartment to recuperate in.

At the same time, Jimmie’s clinical care coordinators with Elica Health Centers, Matthew Henson and Tiffany Lan, made sure that all of his ongoing health care needs were taken care of. They helped Jimmie resolve insurance issues, worked with the rehabilitation facility to allow him to be released early so that he was able to sign his lease and secure his apartment, and coordinated a home health nurse to provide in-home care following the surgery. They also made sure that he received needed physical and occupational therapy, and connected him with the tools and information to access transportation for his medical appointments through his coverage.

“It used to take five to six hours just to go to the doctor using City transit,” he explained. “Now my insurance is straight and the medical van comes and picks me up. I can make those appointments myself.”

Since his surgery in January, Jimmie has made a full recovery. His diabetes is under control and he no longer has to take insulin. And despite having parts of both feet amputated, he is able to walk and ride a bike. His goal is to get back to work and live simply. “I don’t need a big house and white picket fence,” he said. “Just a simple life and some peace.”

“When you see people who are homeless, you never think that overnight that could be you.” Jimmie shared. “It’s so hard to come back from being homeless— people give up. It made a huge difference that the Pathways team kept talking to me.”