Equitable Health Care

Ravenswood Family Health Center (RFHC) exists for the benefit of low-income families and uninsured residents in the communities of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven in Menlo Park, and North Fair Oaks in Redwood City in southeast San Mateo County in Northern California *  Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, these communities are surrounded by some of the most affluent towns in the nation. 

More than one third of the residents in our service area were born outside the U.S., mostly in northern Mexico or Tonga and other Pacific Islands.  As recent immigrants, they are affected by the common stressors associated with migrating to a new country: the loss of support systems, concern over family left behind, economic pressures, and cultural and linguistic isolation.

Many residents are poor and live in tenuous or unstable housing situations.  Unemployment rates are high. In East Palo Alto it is twice as high as the rest of the region (over 20%), contributing to the high number of uninsured adult patients at RFHC.

The Uninsured Working Poor

Most of our uninsured patients work in low-paying jobs with no health benefits.
According to the 2008 San Mateo Health/Quality of Life Survey, 23.7% of employed residents reported that their job did not offer health benefits to employees, a significant increase from 2001.

Among ethnic minorities, the percentage of employees with no health benefits jumps to 33%.

Newly Uninsured

In 2009 health centers around the nation saw a 21% increase in the uninsured as many people their job and their health coverage. Many could not afford the COBRA payment to keep their coverage because it would consume as much as 75% of their monthly unemployment check.

The Good News:  We serve a vital, diverse and constantly changing community.  Many people are very involved in community life in one way or another.  And many community organizations work collaboratively with each other in a truly shared vision for a stronger and healthier community.

*According to the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration our service area is designated a medically underserved area (MUA) because its population groups face economic barriers (low-income or Medicaid-eligible populations) or cultural and/or linguistic access barriers to primary medical care services. More importantly, there was a critical shortage of primary care providers to care for uninsured or Medicaid eligible populations.