Public Health Network to Expand into Inland Empire

Public Health Network to Expand into Inland Empire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, June 12 2023
Contact: Cabot Petoia, clpetoia@gmail.com, 828-899-9239

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Los Angeles – St. John’s Community Health, a network of public health clinics serving South, Central, and East Los Angeles, has plans to expand into the Inland Empire area. They have purchased or secured leases on several buildings, and plan to open four full service clinics across San Bernardino and Riverside by the end of this year. These new clinics will have a major impact on the area, where around 70 percent of low income families currently lack access to basic health care.

St. John’s expects these new clinics will have capacity to serve 20,000 people by the end of 2023, and over 30,000 by 2024.

In addition to providing full-service primary health care services, St. John’s plans to open pharmacies, provide gender affirming care for trans patients, offer curated care for HIV positive patients, serve the specific needs of unhoused folks in the area, and more. They are already forming partnerships with community groups in the area who work with marginalized populations, to ensure they reach those in the greatest need as quickly as possible.

At their clinics in Los Angeles, St. John’s serves over 120,000 patients providing more than 540,000 patient encounters. They have been on the frontlines of preserving the Affordable Care Act, expanding state programs to include undocumented people, fighting COVID-19, and preventing the spread of Mpox. They currently run the largest transgender-specific healthcare program in the United States.

“We look forward to bringing our track record of quality, affirming, and culturally competent care to an area of California that has been neglected for far too long,” said Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s Community Health. “Access to health care is a basic human right – it is essential to not only saving and improving individual lives, but also creating stronger, more socially cohesive communities.”