"One-Stop" Family Resource Center Coming to Town
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3/31/05
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TRACY, CA –Sutter Tracy Community Hospital's new family resource center is set to open in (month) in downtown Tracy. The center will provide information on a wide range of health and social services available through Sutter Tracy, as well as from county and local non-profit agencies. The idea for the "one-stop" health information and resource center grew out of the hospital’s 2004 community needs assessment.
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"The assessment uncovered a number of critical health care needs facing our community, especially when it comes to parents, seniors and teens," says Tammy Shaff, Sutter Tracy’s newly appointed community benefit program manager. "The center will help strengthen existing resources and fill in gaps where services are lacking."
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Crucial funding for the center is coming from the hospital, the Tracy Hospital Foundation and a California First Five grant. The First 5 San Joaquin program uses money collected from cigarette taxes to fund children’s health issues.
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The financial support will help pay for the center's operation and staff, including a bi-lingual resource specialist and social worker. Representatives from local and county health and social service agencies will also be on hand to provide free assessments and referrals to the public.
"We've had a great response from community agencies wanting to be involved with the center," says Shaff. "It's a real community effort and a resource available to everyone in Tracy. Best of all, all the services will be free."
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Seniors will benefit from a number of the center’s services, including medication counseling and referrals to adult day care programs from Seniors First of San Joaquin County. The center’s case manager will help seniors discharged from Sutter Tracy get the follow up services they need - whether it be transportation to the doctor, home health care or low cost mental health services.
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Teenagers and their parents will have access to a comprehensive teen referral service provided by Tracy 4 Teens. Established in 2002, Tracy 4 Teens is an umbrella group of about 20 organizations serving Tracy youth, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tracy, Tracy Parks & Community Services, and the Tracy Mental Health Center.
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The center will also offer parenting classes, support groups and other services to help the ever growing number of young families in Tracy. Many of these families go without vital health care services because they don't have health insurance or the money to pay for services themselves. Representatives from the Charterhouse Center for Families in San Joaquin County will be at the center to help families enroll in Healthy Kids and other free or low cost health insurance programs and help keep them from falling through the cracks.
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"The family resource center will be one of the most important community benefit services the hospital and the Foundation offers in the next few years," says Tracy internist and foundation board member Sunil Patel, M.D. "It will help make the resources people need easier to find and more accessible. It's a wonderful addition to the community."
The Tracy Hospital Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to improving the health and well-being of Tracy area residents. Since its establishment in 1993, the Foundation's philanthropic efforts and fundraising events have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the advancement of charitable, scientific, and educational activities within the Tracy community. To make a tax-deductible contribution, please visit www.suttertracy.org or call (209) 832-6052.
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