A medical home isn’t so much a place as it is a philosophy of care. As a patient-centered medical home, we are committed to providing each and every patient with comprehensive, coordinated care. We are committed to providing you with the care you need, when you need it. And we are committed to providing the highest level of safety and quality in our care.

Equally important to us is developing a relationship with our patients that encompasses the whole person. We want to understand and respect your unique needs, culture, values and preferences. A medical home actively supports patients in learning to manage and organize their own care at the level the patient chooses. Recognizing that patients and families are core members of the care team, medical home practices ensure that they are fully informed partners in establishing care plans.

TEAM-BASED CARE

Very often, a patient needs more than one kind of care to be fully well. Our providers utilize a team-based model that brings medical, dental, behavioral health care and pharmacy services together for our patients—all under one roof. Our teams consist of primary care providers, nurses, medical assistants, behavioral health therapists, pharmacists, dieticians, dental hygienists, health coaches and more. Patients, and their needs, are at the heart of our care. We want patients to be our partners in their care, engaging them at every level, coordinating their health care needs and helping them stay well.

QUALITY HEALTH CARE

Our community-based clinics are nationally recognized for excellence. Clinica is accredited by the Accreditation Association For Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC). That means we’ve met the highest performance standards in delivering high-quality, safe care. We’re also proud to be recognized as a patient-centered medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

The health care we provide is evidence-based and data-driven. We rely heavily on standards developed by nationally recognized groups such as NCQA to measure the quality our health outcomes. And we utilize data obtained from multiple—including our own—make health care decisions.

CONVENIENT HOURS & CLOSE TO HOME

Clinica offers evening hours and same-day appointments. With six community-based clinics, we care for people in south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties. Click for locations and hours.

AFFORDABLE

We’re here to help make the entire community healthier and stronger by providing health care for people of all ages and backgrounds, whether they have insurance or not. While we accept most insurance plans and welcome Medicaid, CHP+ and Medicare. We also have discount programs for people who do not have coverage.

FEDERAL FUNDING RECIPIENT

Clinica Family Health & Wellness receives HHS funding and has Federal PHS deemed status with respect to certain health or health-related claims, including medical malpractice claims, for itself and its covered individuals.

Clinica exists to be the medical and dental care provider of choice for low-income and other underserved people in south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties. Our care shall be culturally appropriate and prevention focused.

OUR VISION

Our vision for the future is that every low-income and other underserved person in south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties will have access to high quality, preventative medical care that is integrated with behavioral health and dental care.

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe that providing people with affordable health care is the right thing to do because:

1. We believe that no one should suffer needlessly.
2. We believe that by keeping people well, they will be able to take care of themselves, support their families, stay in school, be employed and be active in their communities.
3. We believe that by immunizing children, we keep the entire community healthier by keeping communicable diseases in check.
4. We believe that by offering people access to care at facilities like Clinica, they will be less likely to use hospital emergency department for primary care, which will save the health care system money.
5. We know that it saves everyone money when the costs of providing health care to the uninsured are not shifted back to the insured.

OUR STORY

Clinica was founded by Alicia Sanchez a single mother of seven children who truly understood the need for affordable health care. Alicia was a single mother of seven children. Although she never finished high school and suffered from an autoimmune disease that kept her from holding a regular full-time job, she had a huge heart and was known locally as was known as “la medica.”

Before the Lafayette/Louisville area had hundreds of doctors and two, Joint Commission-accredited hospitals, south Boulder County was dotted with commercial farms that hired dozens of Spanish-speaking migrant workers. People turned to Alicia when they were sick or injured and had no money.

Every week, she loaded her car “Susie” with the area’s poor and drove to University Hospital in Denver so people could get low-cost care. She spent days waiting with them, translating and helping them understand test results. Alicia knew Lafayette and Louisville desperately needed affordable primary health care.

Through a true grassroots effort, Alicia, along with community leaders and health care providers, started Clinica in 1977. The first Clinica office was in a small, wood frame house in Lafayette. The master bedroom was divided into two exam rooms. The living room served as waiting room, check-in and medical records. The kitchen served as the clinic’s lab, complete with a chicken egg incubator in one corner that grew throat cultures. That first year, Clinica had a budget of $75,000, and our six staff members provided basic health care to about 500 Lafayette residents.

A vital part our early mission was providing care to the migrant farm workers in Boulder County. Every Friday, our staff would close the clinic early, load supplies into their cars and head to the barracks where the farm workers lived. They couldn’t get to the clinic, so the staff brought the clinic to them.

CLINICA TODAY

Clinica now sees almost 59,000 patients a year. With more than 590 employees, we operate eight community-based medical clinics and two dental clinics serving south Boulder, Broomfield, Gilpin and west Adams counties. Today, Clinica is recognized at state and national levels for our innovative care model and exceptional health outcomes.

OUR PATIENTS

Clinica cares for patients from all walks of life: insured, underinsured, uninsured. Some are well off. Others are facing hard financial situations. Regardless of their personal situation, they all need high-quality, affordable health care for themselves and their families.

IN 2023:

• 94% were living at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (which is an annual income of $62,400 or less for a family of four)
• 30% were children 17 and younger
• 38% were uninsured
• 36% were best served in a language other than English
• 75% were people of color

OFFICERS & MEMBERS

Clinica Family Health & Wellness is run by a volunteer board of directors. At all times, at least 50% of the seats are filled by patients or people who utilize our services (foster parents, etc.). This is a requirement of all federally qualified community health centers. It also allows patients and those who use our services to have a say in how our clinics are operated. Our board of directors generally meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month.

OFFICERS
Chair: Ella Padilla
Vice Chair: Jeff Zayach
Immediate Past Chair: Ellen  Burnes
Treasurer: Matthew A. Antush
Secretary: Heather Elkins

MEMBERS
Inez Buggs
Michael Calcote
Carolina Flores Manrosa (consumer)
Lizandro Gonzalez (consumer)
Douglas (Doug) Jones (consumer)
Cheryln Marriott (consumer)
Mayra Martinez (consumer)
Heidy Ordonez (consumer)
Polly Swartzfager
Dale Varner

EMERITUS MEMBERS
Eleanor Montour

As required of all federally qualified community health centers, at least 50% of our board members directly utilize Clinica for health care services. This allows patients to have a voice and a vote in how their health center is run.

COMMITTED TO EXCELLENCE

We provide care that is nationally recognized for excellence.

Clinica is accredited by the Accreditation Association For Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), an independent organization seeking to improve the care provided by the nation’s hospitals and health care centers. That means we’ve met the highest performance standards in delivering quality, safe care.

Clinica Family Health & Wellness is also recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level III Patient Centered Medical Home. That means we’ve met NCQA’s rigorous standards for quality care and commitment to improvement.