SANTA ANA  — On Thursday the Orange County Health Care Agency announced that the Orange County Board of Supervisors has approved $900,000 in funding to improve the County’s community clinic system. The one-time allocation of Tobacco Settlement Revenue (TSR) funds will be used to expand direct health care services to unfunded medically indigent patients in Orange County. Â
In addition, the Health Care Agency partnered with the Irvine Health Foundation to distribute $400,000 made available to the Foundation through the sale of Anaheim Memorial Medical Center (AHMC). These funds to will be used to expand community clinic services in the geographic area previously served by AHMC.
It is anticipated that the investment of TSR funds will result in improved and expanded access to medical and dental care, decreased use of hospital emergency rooms and improved overall health for low income uninsured persons. Funds will be used for construction and expansion of clinic facilities, purchase of medical equipment, and funding for additional staff, providing additional medical services and also supporting the development of small satellite clinics into fully-licensed community clinics. Funding was distributed among four community providers: Friends of Family Health Center ($275,000); St. Jeanne de Lestonnac Free Clinic ($ 225,000); Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Inc. ($200,000); and Central City Community Health Center ($200,000).
The $400,000 in one-time funds available through the Irvine Health Foundation was awarded for indigent health care to Vietnamese Community of Orange County, Inc.(VNCOC). VNCOC was selected to receive the full $400,000 based on their proposal to provide the highest number of services in the designated area.