REP LIEU TOURS UCLA MOBILE HEALTH CLINIC SUPPORTED BY FEDERAL MONEY HE SECURED
LOS ANGELES, CA – Yesterday, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) visited the UCLA Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, a program that provides free health care, clothes, hygiene products, and social services to unhoused individuals in Los Angeles County. Congressman Lieu secured $592,000 in federal funding for the program in the Fiscal Year 2022 government spending package. The funding allows UCLA Health to purchase and equip two additional mobile clinics, expanding its ability to bring safe and accessible care directly to people living on the streets of Los Angeles.
Congressman Lieu issued the following statement after receiving a tour of one of the mobile health vans and presenting the $592,000 check to UCLA Health.
"One of the best parts of working in Congress is being able to advocate for impactful local initiatives in my district, like the UCLA Homeless Healthcare Collaborative, that are making a real difference in our community," said Congressman Lieu. "UCLA's mobile health program brings high quality care directly to people living on the streets of Los Angeles, addressing the all too prevalent problem of unhoused individuals not being able to access the care they need. Homelessness remains a huge challenge in our country, but especially in our community. Through its Homeless Healthcare Collaborative program, UCLA Health is helping to set unhoused individuals on a better path to health and housing stability. I'm thrilled to have secured federal funding for this inspiring program and am grateful for the work they do each day to help tackle homelessness."
"We are grateful for Rep. Lieu's support of our UCLA Homeless Healthcare Collaborative program," said Johnese Spisso, President of UCLA Health and CEO of the UCLA Hospital System. "The funding he secured from the Congressional Community Project Funding program allows us to expand our work to provide care to people experiencing homelessness in more appropriate settings and further our mission of healing humankind, one patient at a time."
More on the UCLA Homeless Healthcare Collaborative:
The UCLA Mobile Healthcare Program is designed to provide preventative care to the most vulnerable patients: unhoused veterans and others experiencing homelessness. UCLA brings medical and behavioral health care to these vulnerable communities by partnering with agencies and organizations to treat patients in novel settings, like homeless encampments. Treating patients before their conditions require a trip to the emergency room not only leads to better health outcomes, but it is also cost-effective for the Medicare and Medicaid programs because emergency department care is much more costly than providing care in almost any other care setting.
More on Congressman Lieu's work securing Community Project Funding:
Each year, Congress is responsible for allocating overall funding for offices, programs, and grants administered by the federal government. As a Member of Congress, Representative Lieu has the opportunity to advocate for programs that are beneficial to California's 36th Congressional District and the constituents he represents.
In Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023, Congressman Lieu secured a total of over $33 million in federal funding for various community projects in LA County. The projects address an array of pressing needs in California's 36th District – from reducing homelessness to protecting our endangered wildlife, supporting our young populations, and more.
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