Gold Coast Health Plan | Annual Report 2018

When a single mother of four from Oxnard doesn’t drive and doesn’t know how to use public transportation, but has a need to take her daughter to Los Angeles four times a year to see an audiologist, there don’t appear to be many options. For years Paulina paid up to $300 per trip to get her daughter to the audiologist–money she could have used for rent, food and clothing. Paulina also faced another barrier: communication. She only speaks Mixteco, an indigenous language native to the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, which makes communicating with her daughter’s doctor and the office staff a challenge. It was challenges like these in accessing care that Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) sought to address with its Community Health Investment grants. The Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), an organization based in Oxnard that advocates for the Mixteco and indigenous community in Ventura County, received a $150,000 grant from GCHP to improve access for the community. With the money, MICOP hired a Mixtec health case manager to help GCHP members make appointments, coordinate transportation services and navigate the health care system. So when Paulina could no longer afford her daughter’s transportation to her audiologist, she sought MICOP’s help. Juana Zaragoza, the new health case manager, helped Paulina coordinate a ride through Medi-Cal’s non-emergency medical transportation benefit. With the transportation issue resolved, Paulina no longer worries about taking her daughter to the audiologist. “GCHP is leading innovative and culturally competent solutions to address the issues of stigma, cultural competence and language barriers that have long been problems for Medi-Cal patients, particularly by our indigenous immigrant community.” –Genevieve Flores-Haro, associate director at MICOP Bridging service gaps Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank is the little food bank that could. Nestled in a residential neighborhood in Thousand Oaks, the food bank is easy to miss. After all, it’s located in a 700-square- foot house. But the food bank’s space limitations don’t keep it from fulfilling its mission “to feed hungry people in Ventura County.” Indeed, Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank serves an average of 1,400 people per month. Through its Community Health Investment program, Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) helped the food bank fulfill its mission by providing a $73,050 grant to help distribute food to low-income residents of the Conejo Valley. The money went toward the overall costs of maintaining the pantry, including stocking it, refrigeration and truck expenses. “A lot of people don’t think that there are hunger issues in the Conejo Valley, and it’s kind of a hidden problem,” said Jennifer Schwabauer, the food bank’s executive director. “The majority of our clients are employed, but they’re under- employed. They are really looking for a way to stretch their financial resources.” With the grant, Manna Conejo Valley Food Bank distributed 196,519 pounds of food, helping 5,481 people in Ventura County, about half of which were GCHP members. The little food bank that could 2018 Annual Report | 5