Decision Focused on Protecting Local Access to Culturally Competent Care
BORREGO SPRINGS, Calif. (Feb. 15, 2023) – The Borrego Health Board of Trustees selected DAP Health to acquire the Borrego Health system based on a process conducted through Borrego Health’s Bankruptcy Court proceedings.
Upon approval by the Bankruptcy Court and Health Resources & Services Administration, DAP Health would assume control of all Borrego Health clinics. With operational and administrative support from Innercare and Neighborhood Healthcare, DAP Health would operate Borrego Health with an eye towards optimization and stabilization, ensuring community access to integrated health services well into the future.
“Borrego Health delivers high-quality, essential care, and we began this process because the communities we serve need that care to continue,” said Rose MacIsaac, Chief Executive Officer of Borrego Health. “I am confident in DAP Health’s commitment to ensure our patients continue receiving culturally competent care from clinicians and support staff with local experience. I am looking forward to now collaborating with this alliance of well-respected providers to shape a smooth transition that does not interrupt patient care or team members’ careers.”
Borrego Health clinics remain open, and patients do not need to reschedule appointments as a result of this announcement.
The decision is a culminating step in a careful, deliberate process that began in November 2022 to sell Borrego Health’s operations to a like-minded federally qualified health center (FQHC). Borrego Health’s goal throughout the process has been to secure continued access to a health home and safety net for the patients and communities it serves.
“DAP Health is encouraged by today’s news that our bid is being advanced by Borrego Health to a court hearing to consider approval of the sale,” said David Brinkman, Chief Executive Officer of DAP Health. “We entered this process with one goal – to ensure that people who receive care today will find the doors to that care open tomorrow. It is with great humility, and with Borrego Health’s patients in mind, that we await a final decision.”
“This alliance empowers us to expand our quality, compassionate, whole-person care to more people, regardless of their circumstance,” said Rakesh Patel, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Neighborhood Healthcare. “We're excited to be working with DAP Health and Innercare to make this a reality!”
“With a history of and expertise in caring for rural populations, Innercare is highly motivated to protect access for the thousands of patients who rely on Borrego Health,” said Yvonne Bell, Chief Executive Officer of Innercare. “It is with this goal in mind that we hope for a positive final decision that will allow us to bring Innercare's strengths to the alliance.”
The Board’s selection will now be taken to the Bankruptcy Court and Health Resources & Services Administration for the necessary approvals, with the final sale hearing in Bankruptcy Court now scheduled for Wednesday, March 1 at 10 a.m.
For additional information please visit www.borregohealth.org
About Borrego Health
Borrego Health provides high-quality, comprehensive, compassionate primary health care to the people in our communities, regardless of their ability to pay. We serve these communities and adjoining regions with respect, dignity and cultural sensitivity as a medical home and safety net for essential health care and social services. Borrego Health is a non-profit 501(c)(3) Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and a Federal Tort Claims Act Deemed (FTCA) facility.
About the Alliance
Founded in 1984 as Desert AIDS Project, DAP Health was the first community-based clinic dedicated to serving low-income patients with HIV/AIDS. In 2012, it was designated as an FQHC Look-Alike, in 2015 became a 330 grantee, and today serves the general community with a full complement of integrated and lifecycle-appropriate care. DAP Health’s service area boundaries are located within the Coachella Valley, a unique desert community located in Eastern Riverside County in the Inland Empire of Southern California. The Coachella Valley comprises nine major cities as well as several unincorporated areas. The valley encompasses approximately 675 square miles, and its service area includes 310 square miles. CEO since 2006: David Brinkman.
Established in 1970, Innercare (formerly known as Clínicas de Salud del Pueblo, Inc.) is a private nonprofit FQHC operating 10 health care centers; five dental clinics; and three Women, Infant, and Children Programs in Imperial and Riverside counties. Its service area encompasses 30 rural and urban zip codes boasting a total population of over 680,000. This area includes communities along the U.S.-Mexico and Arizona borders. It also serves communities ranging in size from Niland (pop. 1,610) to Hemet (pop. 127,443). There is significant overlap in some of the areas currently served by Borrego Health, with approximately 21% of Borrego Health’s patients currently seeking secondary care at Innercare sites. CEO since 2003: Yvonne Bell.
Founded in 1969, Neighborhood Healthcare operates 24 health centers in San Diego and Riverside counties, serving upwards of 87,000 unique patients each year, 97% of whom are at or below 200% of FPL. Some 61% identify as Hispanic and 41% are best served in a language other than English. With deep cultural understanding, Neighborhood Healthcare excels at providing health care for all stages of life, including pediatric and adult primary care, prenatal care, family planning, HIV testing, women’s health, dental services, and basic pharmacy and lab services. Due to a large and growing Middle Eastern refugee/immigrant population in East San Diego County, Neighborhood Healthcare has developed a
strong culturally and linguistically responsive program to care for Arabic speakers. CEO since 2017 (but at Neighborhood Healthcare since 2002 as a physician): Dr. Rakesh Patel.