Gift will expand diabetes care at UCI Health Family Health Centers

Gift will expand diabetes care at UCI Health Family Health Centers

$50,000 donation from Hyundai Motor America will fund dedicated exam space, expand group medical visits

Orange, Calif. - A $50,000 gift to the UCI Health Family Health Centers in Santa Ana and Anaheim will enhance its efforts to support and educate individuals with diabetes.

The gift from Hyundai Motor America will enable Orange County's first and oldest Federally Qualified Health Center to convert an existing exam room into a specialized diabetes suite with dedicated space to conduct eye exams using a confocal scanner, enabling early detection of diabetic eye disease.

The gift also supports diabetic group medical visits, an eight-week series of courses led by a multidisciplinary team of physicians, pharmacists, health educators, social workers, dietitians and chefs. Each session has a specific focus, including:

• Food as medicine
• Healthy habits
• Insulin resistance
• Diabetes prescriptions
• Eye and foot health
• Supplements
• Stress coping and reduction

"This funding will support our UCI Health Family Health Center patients who predominantly live below the federal poverty level and identify as monolingual Spanish speakers," said Dr. José Mayorga, executive medical director, UCI Health Family Health Center.

"We have proudly served the community since 1978 and are dedicated to eliminating healthcare disparities and gaps. Our clinical teams are keenly aware that socio-economic drivers impact the health of communities, and we focus not only on their medical needs, but their dental/oral, social, and behavioral health needs as well. This has been the foundation of our work for decades and we deeply appreciate the generosity of Hyundai. With this innovative diabetic service expansion, we will leverage our expertise to provide patients with a safe place to receive care and support throughout their health journey."

Advancing diabetes care

The gift represents a leap forward for UC Irvine's diabetes initiative, launched in 2023, which is aimed at combating the disease in the Latino community. Nearly 40% of Latinos have been diagnosed with diabetes, are more likely to have prediabetes and are developing prediabetes at younger ages.

In addition to group medical visits, the program has incorporated an innovative Latin-based social dance program into its diabetes prevention initiative. These workshops are designed not only to promote physical activity but also to foster broader awareness of diabetes prevention among students, staff, faculty and community members.

Another program, IMPROVE-DM, focuses on cardiometabolic risk management in patients with diabetes using the electronic health record (EHR). Through the EHR, physicians are prompted to optimize treatment based on individual patient needs and risk profiles.

The diabetes initiative exemplifies UC Irvine's holistic approach to healthcare, combining community engagement, clinical innovation and research. As these programs advance, they will significantly impact not only health outcomes but also the approach to diabetes care in the Latino community.

Enhancing access to medically underserved

UCI Health Family Health Center ― Anaheim, which opened in 1979, and UCI Health Family Health Center ― Santa Ana, which opened in 1980, were established as the first and oldest federally qualified centers in Orange County in 1985.

Last year alone, whole-family healthcare was given to 28,000 patients across both locations. Of that, 22% were children, 72% were Hispanic/Latino and 97% were at or below the poverty line.

The centers provide essential healthcare services, including the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and arthritis, as well as care for women and children.

In 2023, the centers also had nearly 1,800 visits for dental care services and almost 3,500 visits for mental health services.

Read more

• UC Irvine launches innovative initiative to address diabetes in the Latinx community ›
• I've just been diagnosed with prediabetes. Now what? ›
• UCI Health Family Health Centers recognized for quality, enhancing access ›
• UCI Health is helping to transform diabetes care in Orange County ›

About UCI Health

UCI Health, one of California's largest academic health systems, is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine. The 1,317-bed system comprises its main campus UCI Medical Center, a 459-bed, acute care hospital in Orange, Calif., the UCI Health - Irvine medical campus, four hospitals and affiliated physicians of the UCI Health Community Network in Orange and Los Angeles counties and ambulatory care centers across the region. Recognized as a Top Hospital by The Leapfrog Group, UCI Medical Center provides tertiary and quaternary care and is home to Orange County's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.