Westside Family Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Culver City, is marking 50 years of advancing health equity across Los Angeles with a fundraising birthday celebration tonight at Sony Picture Studios. During the event, the center will present L.A. Care Heath Plan with its Healthcare Hero Award. Westside Family leaders say L.A. Care has played a vital role in the success of the center, which provides care to 13,000 L.A. County residents, from prenatal to seniors, at its Culver City location and at eight satellite and mobile sites.
L.A. Care has awarded several grants to Westside Family Health Center over the years. The health plan has supported the center, which is in its provider network, with grants through its Oral Health Initiative, helping it increase its capacity to improve dental care among its low-income patients. L.A. Care has also supported the center through its Provider Recruitment Program, part of its Elevating the Safety Net initiative, which provides grants to help recruit new physicians into clinics that serve the most vulnerable populations of L.A. County.
Westside Family Health Center credits the partnership with L.A. Care for allowing it to develop into the center it hoped to become when it launched 50 years ago. At that time, it was a small center for women’s health in Santa Monica. In 2020, the center moved into a state-of-the art clinic and headquarters in Culver City. The move allowed for the expansion of mental health services, oral health services and vision care.