New collaboration will address Fresno County’s “contraceptive care desert.” What we know

Fresno County rural residents – who live in a contraceptive care “desert” – will have better access thanks to a new partnership.

The collaboration between UCSF School of Medicine and its regional campus UCSF Fresno with the national nonprofit organization Upstream USA aims to close the gap in contraceptive care in the county while addressing other health care challenges in the rural areas.

“New partnership expands access to care and advance health equity in our low-income communities,” said Dr. Kenny Banh, assistant dean of Undergraduate Medical Education at UCSF Fresno.

Through this new partnership, Mobile HeaL – UCSF Fresno’s mobile medical clinic which is entirely grant- and donation-funded – will provide contraceptive services at no cost to every patient already served the mobile clinic, said Banh, who is also medical director of Mobile HeaL Clinic.

It will expand health care to residents who lack access to doctors to assist with family planning.

“Nobody should be denied access to the health care they need and deserve because of where they live, their income, education level, or background,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Becerra and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, spoke at UCSF Fresno about health care workforce shortages, medical education, and access to care in the San Joaquin Valley.

“Contraceptive care is basic and essential health care. I applaud UCSF and Upstream for coming together to break down barriers to ensure more equitable access to birth control,” Becerra said.

Mobile HeaL provides no-cost, basic health care services to communities across Fresno County, including agricultural workers, unsheltered individuals, and rural residents, thanks to a collaboration with the county Department of Public Health, City of Fresno, and community-based organizations.

Upstream USA – which was established in 2014 with the mission to ensure that equitable, patient-centered contraceptive care is basic healthcare – will provide the mobile medical clinic with free training, technical assistance, and education to ensure that contraceptive services are available at no cost to every patient they serve.

Contraceptive care desert areas

Upstream USA partnered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to expand access to contraception across the country in June 2023.

UCSF Fresno’s Mobile HeaL clinic is the first institution selected to participate in this partnership, and is the first time Upstream is working with a fully mobile clinic.

In California, more than 2.6 million women in need live in contraceptive deserts areas where there is no reasonable access to a health center offering the full range of contraceptive methods, said Hong Van Pham, national director of State Policy for Upstream USA.

Pham said two in five women aged 13 to 44 in the county lack reasonable access to contraceptive services.

The teen birth rate in Fresno County is 17.3 live births per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, higher than the state’s rate of 10.3.

Compared to most counties in California, Fresno also has one of the highest rates of uninsured individuals (15.7 percent).

Banh said not only Mobile HeaL provides free health care but serves as a pathway for future healthcare workers in the region.

“We are more than a mobile clinic. We are a pathway for the next generation of healthcare leaders. Mobile HeaL provides learning opportunities for pre-health students,” Banh said. “Through this partnership with Upstream, not only will more patients gain access to critical contraceptive services, future health care professionals will be better equipped to have these important conversations with their patients and better trained to provide patient-centered contraceptive counseling and care.”

Costa said the partnership “will expand health care to residents in the Valley who lack access to doctors to assist with family planning” helping close the gap in health care access.

According to the California Health Care Foundation, 78% of Central Valley residents are less likely to have a regular doctor than residents in the rest of California.

“We must do all we can to provide quality, accessible care to the people of the Valley,” Costa said.