Message from the CEO - June 2006
The World Wide Web brings all of us closer together. Traveling via the Internet, we learn more about other communities and the organizations that do good works in those communities. Today it is my pleasure to introduce you to Sequoia Community Health Centers, operating in the city of Fresno, California, USA. If you are returning to our web site, I welcome you back and thank you for your continued interest in Sequoia and our mission of providing health care to the underserved.Fresno is California’s sixth largest city, with a 2000 U.S. Census recorded population of nearly 430,000 individuals. Yet according to a December 2005 Brookings Institute Report, Fresno was identified as the city with the highest concentrated poverty (43%) in the nation. It is this vulnerable patient population that Sequoia has been serving since 1978; 87% of our patients report incomes at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
As a Federally Qualified Health Center, Sequoia receives federal grant money to provide medical services to uninsured individuals who otherwise could not afford health care. But the uninsured needs in metropolitan Fresno, and Sequoia’s commitment to our mission of providing health care access to all regardless of ability to pay, are both greater than the federal monies we receive. In 2005, Sequoia provided $182 in uninsured care for every $100 we received in federal grants. We are thus dependent on the kind and generous donations of others---people who believe in and support our health center mission.
As you get to know Sequoia and its people, I know you’ll come to recognize the quality of our compassion and the quality of our services. I hope you’ll also recognize Sequoia as a nonprofit organization worthy of your charitable support.
On behalf of all Sequoia Community Health Centers and the patients we serve, I thank you for your thoughtful consideration.
Sincerely,
John L. Maffeo, MD
Chief Executive Officer
