{"id":114981,"date":"2025-12-31T13:50:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:50:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/114981\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T13:50:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T13:50:38","slug":"bay-area-community-health-looks-to-expand-east-san-jose-clinic-focused-on-underserved-residents-east-bay-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/114981\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area Community Health looks to expand East San Jose clinic focused on underserved residents \u2013 East Bay Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When Briana and her mother emigrated from Peru three years ago, they hoped to find haven in this country, especially medical treatment to help the young girl manage a rare neurological disorder.<\/p>\n

That dream didn\u2019t play out at first.<\/p>\n

At multiple clinics in the South Bay, they encountered\u00a0bureaucracy, limited options, and often frustrated medical staff who were unfamiliar with Landau Kleffner Syndrome, which impaired Briana\u2019s language and cognitive function.<\/p>\n

The two were exhausted. The medical care Briana received felt cold and typically ended with Briana receiving prescribed medication that had severe side effects and failed to stop the seizures and hyperactivity brought on by her condition.<\/p>\n

\"Kathia,Kathia, who asked to withhold her full name to protect her family\u2019s privacy, right, walks with her daughter Briana, 12, at Bay Area Community Health in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Kathia, who asked to withhold her full name to protect her family\u2019s privacy, said things seemed hopeless.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I was dying,\u201d Kathia said in Spanish. \u201cMy daughter was (hurting herself) in such a way that I felt like she was going to die from the strong blows that she gave herself. I felt like one of those was going to kill her. And I was already on the verge of collapse. I couldn\u2019t see my daughter like that anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years ago, Kathia and Briana were connected to a clinic run by Bay Area Community Health<\/a> on McKee Road in East San Jose.<\/p>\n

Clinical director Dr. Swetang Shah, who has devoted his career to nonprofit medicine, was part of the welcoming committee and has overseen Briana\u2019s care from the start. He and the medical staff quickly recognized her and her mother\u2019s needs, and formed a plan to tailor visits to what Briana could handle, adjusting appointment lengths and frequency as needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen her initially every month, and if the patient doesn\u2019t have an issue, we have separated (appointments every) two months, three months,\u201d Shah said. \u201cWe have seen them multiple times without worrying about what the patient needs to pay for. Then there\u2019s the outside support they get, like member care services, enrolling in insurance, making sure they don\u2019t have to pay out of their pocket.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those visits are paired with comprehensive coverage: \u201cThey get not only pediatric services, but behavioral health. We have an internal pharmacy so they can get medications right at the clinic, even before they leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kathia said it was like she and Briana, now 12, entered a new world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way they cared for us, it was very, very nice with all the specialties \u2026 they all have been very, very helpful and very nice to us,\u201d she said. \u201cThe primary doctor is excellent, is very kind, and is very patient. I love that doctor. I just felt very comfortable and so did Briana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bay Area Community Health, which serves Santa Clara and Alameda counties, aims to provide free and affordable medical care to low-income and other underserved populations in the region, including people experiencing homelessness, people afflicted with HIV and AIDS, and transgender people. It is funded primarily through government grants and modest philanthropic support.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit is asking Wish Book readers to help expand the McKee clinic so that it can add dental and vision care on top of the medical, behavioral health, pharmacy and social welfare services offered at the 21,000 square-foot site. They estimate that as many as 15,000 low-income residents within a five-mile radius don\u2019t have access to medical care, and that a significant number are poor and non-English speaking residents who are underinsured and often fearful of seeking institutional medical care.<\/p>\n

Wil Lacro, chief of strategic development for the entity also known as BACH, said they are filling a critical gap with an approach centered on cultural literacy, outreach, and building community trust. He grew up just minutes away from the McKee clinic.<\/p>\n

Lacro touts how BACH can accommodate 40 languages and consciously hires staff with local roots to ensure residents feel supported while navigating the healthcare system. He stresses that ability to pay is not a barrier to care with the organization, noting that it wrote off $7 million in uncompensated care in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cHealthcare is a right, not a privilege,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hire from our community and mobilize these folks, they\u2019re going out into these communities that they know. They\u2019re able to speak the languages of the folks that are out there and understand the needs, whether that be health education about diabetes, or another chronic care disease \u2026 and they\u2019re able to put it out there in ways that they\u2019ll understand it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe reason that plays such a crucial part is because they\u2019re not only educating the community about health care, but they\u2019re connecting with the community. And so we look at that opportunity to be able to expand that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Shah and Lacro emphasize that a major pillar of the McKee clinic is being open well after business hours, to accommodate a patient base that often can\u2019t take off work to take themselves or their kids to a medical appointment.<\/p>\n

\"Kathia,Kathia, who asked to withhold her full name to protect her family\u2019s privacy, right, walks with her daughter Briana, 12, at Bay Area Community Health in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another goal they say would be furthered by Wish Book support: To provide 12-hour availability seven days a week, and eliminate the excruciating decision between getting care and meeting basic needs like making rent and paying for food. When patients can make appointments, Shah said, they are less likely to push off ailments and reach tipping points that require intensive care, and the in-house services like the pharmacy reduce the need for someone to make multiple trips.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose kinds of expansions of time and expansions of services have made a huge impact,\u201d Shah said, \u201cand reducing the emergency visits for these patients has also been a big help.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a recent visit, Kathia and Briana settled right in at the McKee clinic, greeted by familiar faces, in Spanish, who already knew why they were there, and were ready to help. The last two years have been a revelation compared to their prior experiences, Kathia said, when it felt like the burden of getting the right treatment fell mostly on them.<\/p>\n

Now her other child, a son, and her parents are patients at the clinic too.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I have the chance, I always recommend this place,\u201d Kathia said. \u201cThe way it\u2019s set up, they\u2019ve done a great job. In my case, the language, the care, everything. Absolutely everything. They\u2019ll have me here for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

ABOUT WISH BOOKWish Book is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization operated by The Mercury News. Since 1983, Wish Book has been producing series of stories during the holiday season that highlight the wishes of those in need and invite readers to help fulfill them.<\/p>\n

WISHDonations to Bay Area Community Health<\/a> will help the nonprofit expand its McKee Clinic, significantly increasing access to comprehensive care for underserved communities.\u00a0Goal: $50,000.<\/p>\n

HOW TO GIVEDonate at wishbook.mercurynews.com\/donate <\/a>or mail in this form<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ONLINE EXTRARead other Wish Book stories, view photos and video at wishbook.mercurynews.com.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Briana and her mother emigrated from Peru three years ago, they hoped to find haven in this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":114982,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[17116,61467,21224,10150,1280,41115,61469,61468,88,90,89,42336,42337],"class_list":["post-114981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-bach","tag-bay-area-community-health","tag-clinic","tag-east-san-jose","tag-health-care","tag-low-income","tag-mckee-clinic","tag-mckee-road","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-wish-book","tag-wish-book-2025"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114981"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114981\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114982"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}