In partnership with the UCI Health Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), the Samueli Institute has seen year-over-year growth in the number of patients seeking integrative care at the UCI Health FQHC Family Health Center in Santa Ana, which provides health services to underserved communities in Orange County.
Through the years, the Samueli Institute has partnered with the UCI Health Family Health Center to provide integrative care such as acupuncture, nutritional education, group medical visits, mindfulness and more. The initiative is part of part of the Samueli Institute’s commitment to increasing access to integrative care and providing treatment to underserved communities.
There was a total of 1,762 acupuncture visits in the 2024 fiscal year, a 49% increase from the previous fiscal year. When including dietitian services, there were over 3,000 visits for integrative services at the FQHCs.
Most patients who sought care at the FQHC this year had Medicaid (known as Medi-Cal in California), with many other adult patients being uninsured. Additionally, patients predominantly identified as being of Hispanic, Latino or Spanish ethnicity.
Jose Mayorga, MD, executive director and chief medical officer of the UCI Health Family Health Centers in both Santa Ana and Anaheim, says there are a few reasons for the continued increase in acupuncture visits. Mayorga says patients who seek care at the FQHC tend to look for a variety of treatments, such as integrative therapies, to complement traditional medicine. Additionally, many acupuncturists in the area don’t accept Medicaid, unlike the UCI Health Family Health Center. At the FQHC, patients can find the whole-person care they seek at an affordable cost.
