Cartmill Clinic expands access to healthcare for underserved patients

Altura Centers for Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) located in Tulare County, in central California. Since 1995, Altura has been providing compassionate, quality care to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers in this area and the surrounding community. Considered the country’s breadbasket because of an abundance of food production, Tulare County is one of the poorest and most clinically underserved counties in California. It is home to a large population of Hispanic agricultural workers, many with language and cultural barriers, and without adequate access to basic healthcare and family planning services; additionally, the county experiences high rates of poverty and unemployment.

With a focus on the underserved and underinsured/uninsured, Altura offers pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine, OB-GYN, dental care, health education, health insurance enrollment, free patient transportation to the clinic, and more. They also offer a sliding pay scale so patients can pay whatever they can afford to maintain their health.

“Ninety-five percent of our patients live at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Most of them are Hispanic, with 60 percent being women, and approximately 11 percent living without health insurance,” says Graciela Soto Perez, chief executive officer at Altura Centers for Health in Tulare County. “Without the services that we and other FQHCs provide, many members of our community would not be able to access any health care,” she observes.

In recent years however, demand for health care services at Altura has exceeded capacity. This was due to population growth as residents shift from Los Angeles and San Diego to Central California for a lower cost of living, and because many private doctors’ offices have been closing and affiliating with hospitals.

In May 2022, Altura received funding from Capital Impact Partners (Praxis Mutual Funds community investing partner) and other investors to build the Cartmill Clinic campus, creating additional space to offer more pediatric and OB-GYN services, reducing wait times and providing more parking. This increased capacity allows the FQHC to care for 4,000 more patients per year, adding to the already 27,000 that Altura serves annually. Praxis is excited for the impact of the Cartmill Clinic as it serves Altura’s mission and those in Tulare County.