Gold Coast Health Plan Announces Inaugural Grant Awards to Expand Health Care Access Across Ventura County

Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability & Equity (RISE) Grant Program Launches with nearly $22-Million Investment in Community-Based Care

CAMARILLO, Calif., June 25, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Gold Coast Health Plan (GCHP) today announced the inaugural recipients of its new Resilience, Innovation, Sustainability & Equity (RISE) Grant Program—a three-year initiative with an initial commitment of $21.9 million dollars and second- and third-year opportunities for applications. The program is aimed at strengthening Ventura County's health care infrastructure and improving access to care for Medi-Cal members.

Launched in early 2025, the RISE Grant Program is a three-year initiative designed to address critical gaps in physical and behavioral health care. Through strategic investments, GCHP is empowering organizations that serve GCHP members, such as hospitals, clinics, nonprofit organizations, and third-party administrators, to implement initiatives that improve access, enhance patient experience, and promote health equity.

"Our strategic investments and collaboration with provider and community groups have accelerated our ability to connect more members with care," said Dr. Felix Nuñez, GCHP's chief executive officer (CEO). "With the RISE grant program, we want to engage our entire community in this effort to improve health outcomes for all Medi-Cal members."

Following a competitive process and thorough review, GCHP's grant management partner, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), selected the following 16 organizations and projects for RISE Grant funding, totaling $11.3 million for the first year, with some organizations receiving multi-year funding:

Cancer Screenings

• Health Care Foundation for Ventura County, Inc.: $2,034,970
  • Ventura County Medical Center Women's Health Breast Imaging Center: Aims to improve equitable access and patient outcomes by increasing capacity and reducing wait times through equipment upgrades and improved service efficiency.
• Clinicas del Camino Real Inc.: $2 million
  • El Rio Urgent Care Expansion: Aims to expand access to Clinicas Urgent Care and mammography services by renovating the El Rio clinic to add a nine-room urgent care center on site and adding a new mammography mobile unit.
• Conejo Free Clinic: $165,000
  • Women's Wellness & Equity Initiative: Bridging Gaps in Preventive Care: Aims to improve access to screenings and wellness services by expanding the clinic into the adjacent suite, adding two exam rooms, and increasing the number of well-woman clinics held each month.

Mental Health

• Community Memorial Health System, dba Community Memorial Healthcare: $2,847,994
  • Behavioral Health Psychiatry Program: Aims to provide high-quality medical and behavioral health care by integrating psychiatry residents across CMH sites and county facilities.
• The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme: $352,151
  • Mental Health Services for Youth Club Members: Aims to improve the health and well-being of youth members by integrating mental health services into the Clubs' out-of-school programs.
• Nate's Place, A Wellness and Recovery Center: $319,500
  • Expanding Low Barrier Mental Health and Substance Use Services: Aims to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) services.

Nutrition and Food Access

• Food Share: $150,000
  • Fresh for All: Expanding Access to Fresh Produce for Low-Income Communities: Aims to expand access to fresh, nutritious produce by providing 30,000 fresh produce boxes to members directly in high-need communities.
• California State University, Northridge: $77,437
  • The University Corporation (TUC) – Every Family Every Market: Aims to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables through technical assistance targeted to Ventura County farmers to use the new electronic benefits program (i.e., eFM) for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and through provision of health and nutrition education efforts.

Pediatrics and Family Care

• Amigo Baby, Inc.: $280,000
  • Benefits of Comprehensive Pediatric Home Health Services: Aims to expand equitable, in-home pediatric therapy and nursing services, focusing on underserved areas such as Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Oxnard.
• Shelter Care Resources: $152,500
  • Shelter Care Resources Wraparound Health Care: Aims to increase health care access and alternative solutions for Medi-Cal eligible homeless youth and families by addressing challenges to enrollment, digital access, and transportation.
• United Way of Ventura County: $67,136
  • Building Healthy Smiles (BHS): Aims to expand the capacity of BHS services to facilitate school screenings events. Partners will provide care coordination for students with urgent needs, with a focus on equity and inclusivity, ensuring that underserved students have access to essential dental care.

Primary Care Access

• Ventura County Medical System: $1,554,106
  • Expanding Health care Access and Colon Cancer Screening in Ventura County: Aims to expand health care access by increasing clinic capacity at Magnolia Family Medical Clinic in Oxnard and enhancing gastrointestinal services at Santa Paula Hospital.
• Livingston Memorial Visiting Nurse Association: $488,885
  • The Livingston Bridge Program: Aims to improve access to care through in-home visits, remote monitoring, and support.

Public Health and Prevention

• Ventura County Public Health: $357,106
  • Ventura County Public Health Mobile Team: Aims to provide health education, sexually transmitted infection screening, and application assistance for health coverage to unhoused individuals.

Women's Health

• Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project (MICOP): $169,738
  • Access to Traditional Maternal Care for Indigenous Migrant Communities: Aims to address gaps in access to traditional practices essential to maternal and infant health.

Workforce Development

• Santa Barbara Foundation: $308,413
  • Central Coast Community Health Workers / Promotores (CHWP) Collaborative: Aims to improve health care access for by supporting organizations in developing a robust, culturally responsive CHWP workforce.

"This grant is a lifeline for Ventura County's underserved families, allowing us to provide vital pediatric home health services with compassion and equity," said Pablo Velez, chief executive officer of Amigo Baby, Inc. "Together, we're creating brighter futures for children who need every opportunity to thrive."  

With this grant program, GCHP is continuing its investment in health care quality and access in Ventura County. GCHP recently supported local health care providers through a multi-year initiative that provided $50 million in incentives for improvements in health care quality, and about $15 million in grants to recruit or retain 90 health care providers and supply 393 pieces of medical equipment to 42 health centers to support access to care.

"Our strong partnerships with providers have significantly improved access to care and health outcomes," said GCHP's Chief Policy and Program Officer Erik Cho. "This new grant program builds on that success by extending support to clinics, nonprofits, and other community organizations that meet our members where they are—helping them overcome barriers to accessing the medical care they need and deserve."

The grant award period runs from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, during which IHI and GCHP will work closely with grantees to monitor progress, measure outcomes, and share insights to inform future funding cycles.

About Gold Coast Health Plan
Gold Coast Health Plan proudly serves nearly 245,000 Medi-Cal members in Ventura County through its network of primary care physicians, specialists, behavioral health providers and hospitals. Since its founding in 2011, Gold Coast Health Plan has been committed to providing access to high-quality care and improving its members' health, including 1 in 3 county residents, 1 in 6 seniors, and 1 in 2 children under the age of 5. To learn more, visit: www.goldcoasthealthplan.org.

Media Contact:
Susana Enriquez-Euyoque
805-437-5596
[email protected]

SOURCE Gold Coast Health Plan