Expanding Urgent Care in Southeastern San Diego

New San Ysidro Health Urgent Care Center will expand access to timely, high-quality care closer to home and work

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan announced a $1 million community investment to support the new San Ysidro Health Southeastern San Diego (SESD) Urgent Care Center at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, expanding access to timely, convenient healthcare services for Southeastern San Diego residents. A ribbon-cutting event was held Friday to celebrate the center's grand opening and featured remarks from Assemblymember Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins (D-San Diego), San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, and San Diego City Councilmember Henry L. Foster III.

The investment reflects the organizations' shared commitment to improving community health by expanding access to after-hours, high-quality care close to home.

"Access to timely care should not depend on where someone lives. For too many years, Southeastern San Diego residents have had limited urgent care options, leading many to seek treatment in emergency rooms for non-emergency conditions," said Kristen Cerf, president and CEO at Blue Shield Promise. "Our support for San Ysidro Health's new Southeastern San Diego urgent care center will help reduce barriers to treatment and connect families to the right care at the right time, close to where they live."

The approximately 3,300-square-foot urgent care center, located within the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center, provides a community-based alternative to emergency room visits, operated by a trusted, local healthcare organization for Southeastern San Diego's more than 153,000 residents. In addition to treating immediate health needs, providers will connect patients to ongoing primary, preventive, and supportive care, including laboratory and basic radiology services, while referring patients who require higher levels of care to nearby emergency rooms.

"This facility represents more than just access to medical services. It represents opportunity for so many people to not just survive, but to thrive here within San Diego," said Assemblymember Dr. Sharp-Collins. "For far too long, members of our community have gone without care they need because of barriers that never should have been put between them, meaning people and their health. Today this facility helps break down those barriers and brings hope closer to home."

"We are deeply honored to partner with Blue Shield Promise to bring urgent care services to Southeastern San Diego," said Kevin Mattson, president and CEO of San Ysidro Health. "Our Southeast San Diego families no longer need to leave the community for vital, after-hours care. We are here for the working parent with the sick child, the concerned caregiver of a senior loved one and so many other visits outside of normal operating hours. Blue Shield Promise saw what we saw: a community deserving of the same access and opportunities for health as any other. Together, we are expanding much needed access to convenient, after-hours care for all."

"For decades, San Ysidro Health has been a driving force in advancing community health across San Diego," Cerf said. "Its commitment to ensuring access to care for all mirrors our mission to improve health outcomes and reduce barriers. Together, we're helping strengthen the health and well-being of Southeastern San Diego for years to come."

Today, Southeastern San Diego experiences a disproportionately high burden of chronic disease compared to other areas of the county. Social and economic challenges contribute to these health disparities, with 13% of residents living below the federal poverty level, 8% lacking health insurance, and 18% of households relying on SNAP/CalFresh benefits. These factors can increase health risks and make it more difficult for residents to prevent and manage chronic conditions.

Expanding access to critical care in San Diego County has long been a priority for Blue Shield Promise. In July 2023, the health plan also supported the opening of Family Health Centers of San Diego's El Cajon Urgent and Cardiac Care Center through an investment to increase access to urgent and cardiac care services for East County San Diego residents.

For more on the San Ysidro Health Urgent Care Center, visit SESD Urgent Care Center at the Joe & Vi Jacobs Center | Health Care Clinic | San Ysidro Health.

To learn more about Blue Shield Promise, visit Medi-Cal (Blue Shield Promise) | Blue Shield of CA Promise Health Plan.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Alejandra Perez, San Ysidro Health, (619) 253-0140, [email protected]
Juliane Matignas, Blue Shield of California, (310) 999-7890, [email protected]

About Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan

Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan is a managed care organization, wholly owned by Blue Shield of California, offering Medi-Cal. It is led by healthcare professionals with a "members-first" philosophy and committed to building a quality network of providers and partnering with community organizations for more than 500,000 Medi-Cal members across Los Angeles and San Diego counties. It was rated 4 out of 5 in NCQA's Medicaid Health Plan Ratings for 2025. For more information about Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, please visit www.blueshieldca.com/promise. For more news about Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan, please visit promisenews.blueshieldca.com. Or follow us on LinkedIn.

About San Ysidro Health

San Ysidro Health is a non-profit organization committed to providing high-quality, compassionate, accessible, and affordable healthcare services for the entire family. The organization was founded by seven mothers in search of medical services for their children in 1969. Over fifty-seven years later, San Ysidro Health now provides innovative health services to more than 162,000 lives in our care through a vast and integrated network of 50 program sites across San Diego County including medical clinics, dental clinics, behavioral health centers, HIV centers, WIC nutrition centers, mobile medical units, school-based health centers, chiropractic services, pediatric developmental clinic, teen clinic, senior health center and Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). For additional information, please visit San Ysidro Health at www.syhealth.org. 

SOURCE Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan