Care Can’t Wait: Our Community Impact in Response to HR1
In response to HR1 and the growing threats to access to care, Bay Area Community Health launched the Care Can’t Wait campaign with one clear message: our communities deserve timely, trusted, and uninterrupted care—no matter the challenges.
This campaign allowed us to take action where it mattered most. We expanded appointment availability, increasing clinic capacity so patients could be seen sooner and avoid dangerous delays in care. At a time of uncertainty, ensuring consistent access to medical, dental, and behavioral health services became more critical than ever.
We also strengthened and expanded telehealth services, making it easier for patients to connect with providers without transportation, scheduling, or mobility barriers. Telehealth has helped working families, seniors, and caregivers stay connected to care while maintaining continuity and trust with their providers.
Our mobile health services continued to play a vital role—bringing care directly into neighborhoods, schools, food banks, churches, and community spaces. These services ensured that unhoused individuals, newly arrived immigrants, refugees, and other underserved populations could access care in familiar, trusted environments.
Equally important, we expanded public benefit enrollment services, helping community members enroll in Medi-Cal, Covered California, CalFresh, and other essential programs. Access to benefits supports not only health, but stability, dignity, and peace of mind.
Central to all of this work was the growth and strengthening of our partnerships. By deepening relationships with community-based organizations, local leaders, and trusted messengers, we reinforced trust—an essential foundation for effective care. These partnerships allow us to listen, respond, and show up in ways that are culturally responsive and community-led.
Because of Care Can’t Wait—and because of you—access to care did not stop. Together, we continue to stand firm for our communities, today and moving forward.