The Capital Campaign for the San Diego American Indian Health Center
For more information about how you can support the new health center through a named gift, please contact:
Kevin LaChapelle, EdD, MPA
Chief Executive Officer
619-234-5112
klachapelle@sdaihc.org
TRADITION WITH VISION
The Board of Directors of the San Diego American Indian Health Center (SDAIHC) is proud to announce the nonprofit’s first capital campaign to bring together tradition with vision for healing to San Diego’s urban American Indian and underserved populations.
The $35 million campaign will fund the relocation and expansion of SDAIHC’s current facility, creating a modern community health center guided by the sacred Native American connections of mind, body and spirit.
Board President, Paula Brim, shares how the new facility aligns with our long-standing mission:
“The Mission of San Diego American Indian Health Center is to promote excellence in health care with respect to custom and tradition. Our goal is to reduce the significant health disparities of San Diego’s urban American Indian and other underserved populations by improving their health care, resulting in increased life expectancy and enhanced quality of life.
Through your generosity and the power of philanthropy, SDAIHC has set out to raise $40 million through private donations and grants to expand patient-centered, culturally competent health care for the community it serves. With investments from private philanthropy, SDAIHC is prepared to define its next chapter in delivering exceptional care for the patients it serves.
When its doors opened 45 years ago, no one could have imagined that the San Diego American Indian Health Center would grow into the invaluable community asset that it is today. Tradition with Vision is the most important initiative in the history of SDAIHC, cementing the center as a permanent gift of exceptional health care for San Diego’s urban Native American community and low income neighbors from all walks of life.
SDAIHC is constructing a new state-of-the-art community health center on Banker’s Hill in Downtown San Diego that will be open to all San Diegans and manifest the values of healing and balance that are shared among Native American Indian cultures. These include respect for patients, acknowledgment of the whole person and collaborative care that promotes individual and community health.
With our hearts closely tied to time-honored tradition and our vision focused on the well-being of our community, the expanded San Diego American Indian Health Center will connect patients to health and prosperity for generations to come.
The new facility will double SDAIHC’s service capacity and be open to all San Diegan’s, regardless of their background or ability to pay. In addition to the high-quality medical, behavioral health, dental care and community wellness programs already available to SDAIHC clients, new services for the expanded center will allow our team to provide extended-hour Urgent Care with on-site X-rays; expanded women’s services, including mammography; on-site laboratory services; and other services defined by community need.
Community members will enjoy a beautiful new multi-purpose youth, family and elder center dedicated to the wellness of young people; an elder’s meeting hall with integrated programming and a community commercial grade kitchen; a community garden, featuring naturopathic plants used in healing ceremonies and traditional native medicine; and the Roof Deck— which will host outdoor programming and be available to the clinic’s partners for a nominal maintenance support fee.
Realizing this vision will require an investment of $40 million. We invite visionary local individuals, foundations and corporations to partner with us through generous philanthropy to achieve this transformational goal. We look forward to evolving traditions with you and opening the doors to the future of care for our San Diego neighbors.
The San Diego American Indian Health Center continues providing comprehensive services to multicultural patients in San Diego County, as well as local communities who have found our health center as a haven for their own care as well. Focused on the health and well-being of body, mind, and spirit, SDAIHC’s services reduce disparities and bring hope to patients by increasing life expectancy and improving quality of life.
SDAIHC offers medical, dental, behavioral health and wellness programs, seamlessly integrated to meet the individual needs of each patient at a low cost. The center’s team of 70+ skilled professionals work together to ensure the whole person is cared for in a balanced and holistic way aligned with ancient Native American traditions, and the highest standard of medical practice.
A commitment to healing that honors Native American culture and history can be felt throughout SDAIHC and among its multidisciplinary team. From the murals outside the center to the regular exchanges of stories and support between elders and youth that take place inside, every facet of care is defined with a sensitivity to the urban Native American experience.
Staff are trained in customs and practices essential to providing care that is culturally aware with the patient at its center. This empathetic, interconnected approach extends to all who find themselves in need of SDAIHC’s services and has earned the trust of hundreds of thousands of patients and the broader San Diego community.
Rooted in Native American tradition, the compassionate, quality care delivered by San Diego American Indian Health Center has come to be regarded among the community’s best.
Witnessing great need for holistic care and improved quality of life beyond the city’s urban American Indian population, SDAIHC expanded to serve all San Diegans who could benefit from its programs in 2014. Since then, patient volumes have exponentially increased across all areas of service. Over the past 10 years, the team has provided high quality care to a diverse range of community members via 339,000 patient visits: an increase of nearly 400 percent in just five years.
The sacred Native American integrated Medicine Wheel, the logo of our health center, represents harmony among body, mind, spirit and nature that guides SDAIHC team members in delivering care to the community we serve each day.
Early on, leadership and staff came together to define a vision that focused SDAIHC’s services to balance these four elements within patient care, whether medical, dental, behavioral or wellness. The team now offers 30 programs across its four departments, all of which have seen growth in community need in recent past years.
Medical: From periodic check-ups to attentive management of chronic conditions, SDAIHC’s medical team provides family-centered care for all ages and backgrounds, emphasizing prevention and proper maintenance through education. Caring staff treat both acute and chronic issues through a range of screening, navigation, and therapeutic services to increase patient chances of long and healthy lives.
Dental: SDAIHC’s compassionate team of dentists create gentle and relaxing dental care experiences focused on the whole patient. Serving both adults and children with general and specialty exams, treatments and procedures, the center’s dental experts cater to individual needs as determined by regular assessments and overall health.
Behavioral Health: Counseling and therapy services for individuals, couples and families are among those in highest demand at San Diego American Indian Health Center. Whether a patient is seeking support around personal, family, work, school or other common challenges, SDAIHC clinicians trained in a variety
of disciplines are accessible to provide culturally informed behavioral health services, seamlessly integrated with medical and dental care. This comprehensive approach ensures healing and hope is achieved for patients across the three elements: body, mind, and spirit. Care is facilitated in a richly diverse and therapeutic environment sensitive to the unique cultural perspectives of each patient.
Wellness: A range of wellness and youth programs are offered by the SDAIHC team to support patients from child to elder ages improve their fitness, health and overall life. From gentle yoga and walking groups to youth mental health prevention and intervention, these ancillary services enrich patient health and wellness in empowering ways.
One unique programming focus is facilitating the connection between young urban Native American Indians and elders. The two groups convene regularly to share stories, food and art and pass along traditions, drawing deeper understanding, joy and healing into their lives and experiences.
Expanding Our Impact
The many high-quality services and benefits SDAIHC has come to be known for, along with the growth of the San Diego community it cares for, have driven exponential increases in patient volumes over the last decade.
Expanding SDAIHC’s from its current 12,927 square-foot facility to over 56,000 square feet will enhance care for the community in a number of significant ways. Larger waiting areas, exam rooms, nurses’ stations and offices will accommodate both growing numbers of patients and practitioners and allow for an improved patient experience and staff efficiencies.
Space limitations within the center’s existing site present consistent challenges around scheduling and wait times that affect accessibility and quality of care. Modernizing equipment and aesthetics and retrofitting for pandemic-related considerations will also ensure patients receive comfortable, safe, and confidential care.
