Integrative and naturopathic medical care is at the root of the SSIHI Community Integrative Health initiative. In collaboration with the Serve the People Community Health Center in Santa Ana and with the support of Eleanor Tang/Kay Family Foundation and the Estate of Lois Eisenberg, we launched the Community Integrative Clinic and have been providing underserved patients with integrative care since January 2018.
UCI Family Health Center – Santa Ana
The Samueli Institute partners with the UCI Family Health Center in Santa Ana, a federally qualified health center, to provide integrative services to a traditionally underserved community. Through our partnership, we offer a variety of integrative services at the Santa Ana location that include:
- Acupuncture
- Integrative Physician Consultations
- Group visits and healthy cooking classes
UCI Family Health Center serves over 24,000 patients who are predominantly Latino and monolingual Spanish. 99% of our patients live below 200% of the federal poverty level. 80% of our patients have MediCal and 10% are uninsured. Of those served, 32% are children.
Cocina Saludable / Healthy Cooking
Clases de Cocina Saludable / Healthy Cooking Classes add to the variety of innovative whole-person treatments for underserved patients at UCI Family Health Centers through the UC Irvine Department of Family Medicine and Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute. Patients at our Federally Qualified Health Center who are managing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease have long told providers they understand how they should eat, but need to learn cooking skills and practical, accessible recipes to make healthy meals a habit. The Lois Eisenberg community teaching kitchen provides a space for patients, families, staff and providers to bring nutritional concepts alive and onto the dinner table.
Chef-taught cooking tips and skills make food preparation easier and healthier, in tandem with physician- and student-led nutrition education at the new Clases de Cocina Saludable/Healthy Cooking Classes. These programs are made possible by the Samueli Foundation, Wellbeing Circle and other generous supporters, including UCI Campus Recreation and the Health Scholars Program.
Integrative Clinic at Serve the People
In collaboration with the Serve the People community health center and with the support of Eleanor Tang/Kay Family Foundation and the Estate of Lois Eisenberg, in January 2018, we launched an integrative health clinic offering services to the underserved community in Santa Ana.
SSIHI’s integrative clinic at Serve the People expanded services through group medical visits as well as telemedicine appointments during the COVID pandemic. The clinic also served as a rotation site for our naturopathic residents. In 2019, we recruited 10 volunteers from the Health Scholars program (a program to provide clinical experience for students with a passion to pursue a health career in an underserved community). These volunteers made a significant impact on our patient care by bridging the gap in assisting with Spanish translation.
