RotaCare: A Mobile Clinic Helping the Uninsured

Written by: Gautam Naik | Edited by: Arshad Mohammed

I’ve spent the past semester and a half on UC Berkeley’s campus as a first-year undergraduate, and, as a premed student, I’ve made sure to explore many of Berkeley’s “clinical” opportunities. In my recent exploration, the work of mobile clinics became prominent and clearly foundational to the community. As such, I wanted to really understand the work of mobile clinics and how they look to improve the community, so I pounced on an opportunity to talk with a representative of RotaCare, a mobile clinic with 10 locations around the Bay Area, to understand more about the organization and their work. 

1. Just to start things off, I was wondering if you would be able to tell me a little bit about yourself and your connection with RotaCare?

I had the privilege of speaking with JP Sahi, who has been with RotaCare for the past 8 years  and is currently Chief Executive Officer (and former Director of Clinic Operations) of the organization, being responsible for overseeing clinic operations and development. Before RotaCare, Ms. Sahi worked in numerous healthcare-related nonprofit organizations aligning with her passion of assisting people who do not have adequate access to healthcare. Her experience includes contributing to Federally Qualified Health Centers^[1] like Bay Area Community Health^[2] and Axis Community Health^[3], just to name a few. 

2. How did the organization begin? What issues in the community became prevalent enough that they led to the formation of RotaCare?

RotaCare first began operations in 1989 in San Jose by Dr. Mark Campbell, who began to notice that a large portion of the community were left with inadequate access to healthcare. With the support of his Rotary Club, he helped establish the first clinic in Saint Agnes Hospital. Over time, the organization has grown and expanded, now being able to offer services in 10 different communities, including Santa Clara, Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and Richmond. With the help of volunteers, the Rotary community, and other donations, RotaCare has been able to provide free healthcare to members of their community unable to pay for primary healthcare.  

3. What kind of barriers does RotaCare help patients overcome when it comes to their access to healthcare and medical services? 

RotaCare primarily provides assistance to the uninsured parts of the community. They help provide underserved communities with the necessary healthcare resources to live fruitful lives. That being said, their work extends beyond simply the uninsured. Through word-of-mouth, the services and assistance provided by RotaCare has become known throughout much of the community and are used by a wide array of people, all who face barriers to utilizing primary health care. 

According to JP Sahi, a large, and not well-known, community that RotaCare serves is undocumented immigrants. Initially, many undocumented immigrants are hesitant to leave their homes in fear of deportation and are wary of the government’s help in regards to healthcare and other resources due to fear that their path to permanent residency and a green card could be hindered in some way. Personally, as a son of immigrant parents, I understand the importance of a green card and permanent residency in the US as it provides a sense of stability and security. In regards to the undocumented immigrants RotaCare assists, due to their apprehensiveness of the state and society as a whole, immigrants, undocumented and others alike, are unaware of the numerous healthcare services available at their disposal. They believe that spending more money on healthcare will invariably lead to better services and resources. However, this is not the case. RotaCare looks to bridge this gap through enrollment agents^[4] and social workers^[5] in order to help immigrants integrate into the healthcare system. Ultimately, residency status, language, and understanding the American healthcare system serve as major barriers to a patient’s ability to access healthcare and medical services. 

4. How does culture (i.e. Spanish speakers) affect patient’s healthcare access and how does RotaCare tackle this issue?

According to JP Sahi’s time in the healthcare industry, both with Rotacare and previously, language and culture serve as major barriers to communities gaining access to and utilizing the proper healthcare services and medical resources. Among the communities that RotaCare is involved in, the Spanish, Nepali, and Russian communities are those that face the largest cultural and language barriers in accessing healthcare resources. This predicament further increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many foreigners were stuck in the Bay Area due to travel restrictions. In addition to not being fully knowledgeable about the American healthcare system, language and culture barriers arose as these foreigners were predominantly Asian and particularly fluent in only their regional or national language, such as Punjabi, Hindi, or Mandarin. Then and now, RotaCare has looked to scale these barriers by recruiting volunteers who are able to bridge this divide as translators and provide patients’ with the correct resources. These volunteers help patients facing cultural and language barriers utilize the medical resources available along with providing a stress-free environment in which patients are able to make more informed decisions regarding their health.

5. What type of services does RotaCare offer and how does it help contribute to the community?

RotaCare’s main objective is providing underserved parts of the community with the necessary medical services and healthcare resources in order to live healthy lives. As such, they help resolve any medical issue, and if the issue is beyond their resources, they will find referrals for their patients, which include the uninsured, undocumented immigrants, and people who face cultural barriers. They provide patients with access to free medical exams, diagnostic testing, lab testing, and many pharmaceuticals. Along with these services, RotaCare has an extensive program that educates the community in diabetes and hypertension and is currently running a pilot program funded by John Muir regarding these health conditions. RotaCare also helps educate the community on best health practices, healthy eating, proper exercising, and how to shop smartly for the best foods. RotaCare not only provides the community with medical services that help resolve any existing health issues but also improves the general health awareness of society in a bid to prevent these health concerns from ever arising.  

6. From your time and experience with RotaCare, how has RotaCare impacted the lives of the people it serves? 

During her time at RotaCare, JP Sahi has personally seen the impact that its services have had on the people it assists. RotaCare provides an avenue from which underserved parts of the community are able to inquire about what seems to be minor issues in their health. However, these issues can often be early signs of larger, more complicated problems, like cancer. Ms. Sahi has seen patients be able to use RotaCare’s services to investigate smaller issues in their health and, as a result, prevent larger issues from arising later in life. During our conversation, she gave an example of a patient who met a RotaCare provider at an outside event some time after his first visit to the organization. This patient had first visited their local RotaCare clinic after reporting abnormally high blood pressure levels. After being triaged, the patient was sent to the ER in order to have more thorough tests done. After the results were analyzed, it was learned that the patient suffered from a critical condition that had life-threatening consequences. However, since it was detected very early on, any major consequences were avoided. It is this type of service that RotaCare seeks to provide and the type of impact it has had on the communities it serves.  

7. How can the community get involved in this initiative?

RotaCare does not stand alone in its efforts to improve healthcare access and services for all people in the community. Along with a vast array of other organizations, RotaCare seeks to help people live more comfortable lives and be more knowledgeable about their own health. In my conversation with JP Sahi, she stressed the rising need for additional mental health services along with educating the community on existing resources. In a world centered around social media and post-pandemic recovery, mental health is of crucial importance and must be properly protected and nurtured in order to ensure a healthy community. 

Right now, as a community, we can work towards RotaCare’s vision by raising awareness about available medical and mental health services. We can help support these non-profit organizations through fundraisers and by becoming certified healthcare workers. By volunteering at organizations like RotaCare, we can help improve the general welfare of our community. Even simply being more knowledgeable about healthcare and about local medical and mental health resources can go a long way in ensuring that the people in our community get the help they need when they need it.   

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1. Federally Qualified Health Centers: Community-based organizations that provide a variety of primary and preventive care services to people regardless of their income or health-insurance status. 
2. Bay Area Community Health: Provide health and social services with the goal of providing everyone in a community with equal access to high quality and affordable healthcare in Alameda and Santa Clara County
3. Axis Community Health: Promotes the wellbeing of members in the community, especially those struggling from poverty, housing instability, and social disparities, across Eastern Alameda County by offering affordable and accessible health care services. 
4. Enrollment Agents: Work alongside social workers to ensure that immigrants are able to gain access and navigate through the US healthcare system. 
5. Social Workers: Supports individuals and families by ensuring people gain or utilize access to basic necessities such as food, shelter, and healthcare. Their ultimate goal is to improve the social environment and welfare of people.