LOS ANGELES – L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest publicly operated health plan, announced today that it has awarded $1,950,000 in grants to increase the number COVID-19 vaccinations in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and the lowest vaccination rates. Through the Robert E. Tranquada Safety Net Initiative XII (Tranquada XII), 26 community-based safety net clinics across Los Angeles County will each receive $75,000 grants to conduct vaccination projects with an expectation that together they can get more than 190,000 doses into arms. The clinics will be operating at more than 70 sites in low-income communities of color.
“With the number of people getting vaccinated now on the decline, it is more important than ever to get the vaccines directly into the communities where our members live and that’s where these clinics are,” said John Baackes, L.A. Care CEO. “This funding will support the hiring and training of staff needed to ensure we can get as many people vaccinated as possible.”
The funding will also support the acquisition of equipment to set up temporary physical vaccination hubs, including mobile vaccination units.
“L.A. Care is determined to address all barriers to vaccinations,” said Richard Seidman, MD, MPH, L.A. Care Chief Medical Officer. “These grants will help organizations tackle the decline in vaccinations by addressing factors like hesitancy, limited mobility, inflexible work schedules, homelessness, and more.”
The Tranquada Initiative awardees are:
AltaMed Health Services
Arroyo Vista Family Health Center
Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation
Central Neighborhood Health Foundation
ChapCare
Clinica Monseñor Oscar A. Romero
Comprehensive Community Health Centers
Herald Christian Health Center
JWCH Institute, Inc.
Kheir Clinic
Los Angeles Christian Health Centers
L.A. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Center
Martin Luther King Community Healthcare
Northeast Community Clinics
Northeast Valley Health Corporation
QueensCare Health Centers
South Central Family Health Center
Southern California Medical Center
St. John’s Well Child and Family Center
Tarzana Treatment Centers, Inc.
The Children’s Clinic
UMMA Community Clinic
Venice Family Clinic
Via Care Community Health Center
White Memorial Community Health Center
Wilmington Community Clinic
Since its inception in 1997, L.A. Care has reinvested funds to support low-income, vulnerable residents in L.A. County and the community organizations and safety net providers who serve these residents. This award, which was created in 2005 to help safety net providers improve their core infrastructure capabilities and to support projects that have a long-term and systemic impact, is named after Dr. Robert E. Tranquada. A founding board member of L.A. Care, Dr. Tranquada has dedicated his life to public health. He served as the Medical Director of L.A. County +USC Medical Center and was later the Dean of Medicine at USC.
L.A. Care wants to support all efforts that will help L.A. County move beyond the pandemic and improve health outcomes for our members and their communities.
Learn more about our COVID-19 funding efforts.