Building Better Napa: Expanding to Meet the Need

Fernando Diaz, University of San Francisco

Abstract

The onset of the Affordable Care Act in 2010 has launched a nationwide effort to increase the quality of health for Americans across the country. Part of that effort includes enrolling citizens in health care insurance and placing more emphasis on preventive care at the primary care level. These actions, as well as a growing general and senior population, have contributed to a nationwide shortage of health providers particularly in those areas of rural and low-income communities.

OLE Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center operating 9 sites throughout Napa and Solano Counties is seeing the issue of provider shortage first-hand and has launched an effort to educate the public about Napa County’s rapidly changing health needs and the importance of building a new community health center to attract more providers to the area and help meet the growing health needs of Napa County Residents.

My Capstone Project involved identifying Napa County’s top health issues as well as those of OLE Health patients. Strategies used included developing an outreach plan to build awareness in the community and help raise money for a new health center. Other tactics included reaching out to local media outlets, visibility at public events, as well as a component to engage Napa’s millennial population through the use of crowdsourcing and social media.