The new Santa Clara County-run mobile health clinic on De Anza College’s campus represents a full-circle moment for state Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens.
Ahrens said he didn’t have access to healthcare for most of his life. As a Foothill-De Anza Community College District trustee, he initiated the idea of a brick-and-mortar health clinic on campus. Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga said although the plan was approved, no funding was allocated for it.
After the COVID-19 pandemic and the Trump administration’s HR1 budget cuts exposed the need for basic health services in the county–especially among community college students–Ahrens, the district’s board of trustees and other nonprofit leaders landed on the idea of creating a mobile clinic to flexibly meet the region’s needs.
“We’re meeting everyone where they are so that they can focus on what we want them to focus on, which is getting their education and reinvesting in that notion that when they get this education,” Ahrens said in an interview. “It is the greatest social mobility that we could every give anybody in the state of California.”
The mobile clinic, operated by Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, will provide health care for adults age 18 and older with no appointment necessary. In addition to students in the community college district, the clinic will serve low-income residents of Cupertino, Los Altos, Saratoga, Sunnyvale and West San Jose. It is equipped for treating minor illness and injuries, family planning services, physical exams, health screenings, adult vaccinations and referrals to specialty care. The clinic is part of a year-long pilot program and is scheduled to be at De Anza College every Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Most health insurance plans are accepted, but the clinic may charge for services.
“We at the county are facing huge budget challenges, so people might say this is not a time to start something new, and yet, here we are,” said Abe-Koga at a press conference for the clinic’s opening on May 8. “We’re able to find creative solutions during these difficult budget times.”
Cupertino City Councilmember J.R. Fruen acknowledged that this is the only public health clinic in the city, save for some that deal with workplace injuries.
“The city doesn’t have the resources, at least on its own, to be able to meet that need,” Fruen said.
In a 2018 survey conducted by De Anza, over half of the respondents reported experiencing either transportation, food or housing insecurity. Almost one-fifth of respondents were homeless. The clinic adds to on-campus services already offered, like counseling and food pantries, said district trustee Alexander Gvatua.
Abe-Koga highlighted the clinic’s accessibility as it is near the Cupertino Senior Center as well as a bus stop on Stevens Creek Boulevard, which is served by VTA lines 25, 51 and 55.
In addition to the moral responsibility to serving constituents, Ahrens said, rolling out the mobile clinic is fiscally responsible.
“When you give people access to basic healthcare and they can have it easily accessible to them, you save so much money on the outside, because then people get the care that they need earlier,” Ahrens said. “It doesn’t get exponentially more expensive.”
Aside from exercise and good nutrition, access to preventative care services is essential to maintaining health, said Dr. Clifford Wang, associate chief medical officer for Santa Clara Valley Healthcare.
“Most young adults are healthy, but oftentimes, there’ll be various things that start during that period of time where they do really need access to good primary care rather than having to go to the emergency room,” Wang said.