Together for Better Health
DAP Health and Borrego Health become one integrated health care system with a singular goal — to protect and expand local access to culturally competent care for more than 100,000 patients.
As seen in Issue 4 of DAP Health magazine
Words by Daniel Vaillancourt
On August 1, 2023, DAP Health and Borrego Health became one in a union sanctioned by both the Bankruptcy Court and the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). Since then, the integrated health care system has operated with some 850 employees serving more than 100,000 patients of all ages, genders, ethnicities, orientations, and socioeconomic status at a total of 25 Southern California clinics located within 240 rural and urban zip codes from the Salton Sea to San Diego.
Prior to the two federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) joining forces, DAP Health’s programs and services included primary care, infectious diseases, gender-affirming care, LGBTQ+ care, mental health, dentistry, harm reduction, recovery services, affordable housing, and social services. The Borrego Health disciplines now under DAP Health’s vast umbrella include family medicine, women’s health (including OB-GYN), pediatrics, veterans’ health, geriatrics, urgent care, and pharmacy services.
“It’s an honor to unite Borrego Health and DAP Health’s missions, as well as our region’s most exceptional, dedicated, and passionate health care professionals,” says DAP Health CEO David Brinkman. “Together, we will build a brighter future where every individual — regardless of who or where they are — has equal opportunity to live a healthy and fulfilling life.
“We will achieve this by replicating our time-tested, holistic, patient-centered care model, which addresses all applicable social determinants of health (SDOH) negatively affecting the patient population at each of our clinics. By addressing these SDOH — whether they pertain to language and literacy, housing, nutrition, transportation, education, employment and income, addiction, violence, and/or racism and other discrimination — we remove barriers to care, increase our patients’ quality and length of life, and create true health equity.”
“When all of us at Borrego Health were looking for a like-minded FQHC to take us under its wing, three things mattered most,” says DAP Health Chief Operating Officer Corina Velasquez, who served in the same capacity at Borrego Health. “Continued access to health care for our more than 100,000 patients. Continued employment for our more than 600 employees. And mission match — an organization that would share our values and our vision for continually creating more health equity in this region. In DAP Health, we hit the proverbial trifecta … and then some!”
Of note:
Every DAP Health and Borrego Health location will remain open, retaining its original name, branding, and signage for the time being.
Some 99% of Borrego Health employees accepted DAP Health’s invitation to join the combined entity. There were no layoffs or forced relocations among existing DAP Health employees.
Fellow FQHCs Innercare and Neighborhood Healthcare — allies of DAP Health who have regional and cultural expertise in Riverside and San Diego Counties, respectively — will offer guidance, support, and community connections on an as-needed basis.
DAP Health’s mission — including its commitment to LGBTQ+ health care, HIV care, gender-affirming care, and the Coachella Valley community — will expand as a result of its absorption of Borrego Health.
Over the next 12 months, DAP Health’s fortified executive leadership team — consisting of individuals from both organizations — will analyze all social determinants of health (those non-medical factors that negatively impact patients’ health outcomes) at all the clinics served. It will actively engage fellow community organizations, government agencies, educational institutions, and businesses to improve health outcomes for all, whether that be by adding programs and services or improving physical facilities. By combining a plethora of strengths, DAP Health will achieve new levels of excellence in delivering comprehensive, accessible, and culturally sensitive care to its diverse patient populations.