CAPH represents 19 public hospitals, health care systems and academic medical centers in 15 counties where more than 81% of Californians reside. Our members are comprised of county-owned and -operated facilities and University of California medical centers.
Though they represent only six percent of all hospitals statewide, CAPH members deliver care to 2.5 million Californians, provide nearly half the hospital care to the state’s 6.7 million uninsured, and offer 10 million outpatient visits each year. They also operate more than half of the state’s trauma centers and nearly half of its burn centers, and train 43% of all new doctors in the state.
As safety net providers, CAPH members share a mission and mandate to provide care to all in need, regardless of their insurance status or ability to pay. Our members are dedicated to assuring the accessibility of high quality, cost-effective, and culturally appropriate health care services for low-income and uninsured populations. These providers also ensure the availability of essential services, such as emergency, trauma and burn care, to all Californians.
CAPH members also are leaders in developing coordinated systems of care designed to improve the health of their patients and reduce avoidable emergency visits and hospital stays. In order to better serve an ever-growing patient population and one that typically has multiple and complex medical needs, California’s public hospitals have created innovative programs that increase access to care, enhance efficiencies and improve quality. They also have worked to reduce health care disparities, through efforts such as language interpreter services, in order to decrease the number of poorer health outcomes that can result from unequal access to care. Our members have been ably assisted in this work by our quality improvement affiliate, the California Health Care Safety Net Institute.
As we move towards a smarter and more efficient health care delivery system that makes the best use of limited resources, California’s public hospitals serve as leaders in developing successful structures and programs that offer a roadmap for the future.