A Place for Low-income and Unisured Families
In 1984, Dr. Michael Podlone and Mark O’Connor opened a private physician practice serving the East Side residents of San Jose. In 1996, the Clinic was donated to a newly formed, non-profit called the San Jose Foothill Family Community Clinic. Mark O’Connor became the CEO while continuing to see patients.
The Clinic applied for FQHC look-alike status in 1998 and then applied for an FQHC 330 grant which was awarded in January 2006. However, tragedy struck in late December 2006 when the Clinic was destroyed by fire. Within three weeks, the clinic was temporarily relocated to a small space at the local MACSA, a service provider to the Spanish-speaking residents. However, the limited working space meant downsizing to a single provider. This resulted in a cash flow decrease and needed to be tightly managed to survive financially.
Realizing the need for expansion, space in a local physician’s building became available, but needed to be remodeled to double the space and exam room capacity. With the CEO resigning, the Board embarked on a new remodeling contract which had to bring the facility up to OSHPD 3 Code requirements. Our new facility opened in February 2009.
FCHC Mission Statement
As a federally qualified health care center, we provide urgent, primary, and preventive services to the residents in the underserved population of East San Jose. The clinic's purpose is "To Help People" by providing accessible, high-quality, comprehensive services to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay. The staff is culturally diverse and sensitive to the patient population. |
