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California Health Care Foundation
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          The California Health Care Foundation is an independent, nonprofit philanthropy that works to improve the health care system so that all Californians have the care they need.

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          CHCF works on many different fronts to support California’s health care system. Explore resources, events, or networks related to each topic.

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          CHCF publishes reports, issue briefs, resource libraries, fact sheets, and more to help make meaningful change in California’s health care system.

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          CHCF funds projects that are aligned with its strategic goals and relevant to California health care as outlined in these goals.

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  • About Us
        • About Us

          The California Health Care Foundation is an independent, nonprofit philanthropy that works to improve the health care system so that all Californians have the care they need.

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Street Medicine

Our work in street medicine examines care models for unsheltered Californians. We analyze outreach approaches, workforce needs, and payment systems, identifying practices that improve health outcomes while connecting homeless people to comprehensive services and housing pathways.

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    Featured Publications

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    Street medicine practitioner visits with a client who is experiencing homelessness. Illustration created with Adobe Firefly

    Street Medicine

    Although the health system cannot fix every part of the homelessness crisis, there are important roles it can play. CHCF envisions a future where different systems work together effectively so people are housed and healthy.

    Homelessness, Street Medicine
    Illustration of nurse talking to patient in recuperative care setting

    Five Ways to Improve Recuperative Care in California

    October 23, 2024
    Homelessness
    Hand holding key

    ‘House Calls’ for People Experiencing Homelessness

    June 09, 2022
    Homelessness
    Illustration of tent set up on the outskirts of a city

    As COVID-19 Was Peaking, LA Delivered Medical Care to People in Emergency Housing

    February 25, 2022
    COVID-19, Homelessness
    Street medicine team from Venice Family Clinic speaks with person experiencing homelessness.

    CHCF Testifies to Lawmakers About Newsom’s Behavioral Health Modernization Proposal

    August 28, 2023
    Behavioral Health

    Recent Resources

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    Blog
    Feature Story

    Reckoning With State and Federal Cuts, Los Angeles Safety-Net Clinics Push for a New Tax

    March 26, 2026
    Blog
    Blog
    Feature Story

    Street Medicine Team’s Behavioral Health Care Builds Trust with Inland Empire’s Unhoused Residents

    March 05, 2026
    Blog
    Street medicine practitioner talks to man experiencing homelessness.
    Blog
    Quick Read

    Enhancing Financial Sustainability for Street Medicine: Examining Medi-Cal Managed Care Contracts with California Providers

    March 07, 2025
    Blog
    Dr. Matthew Beare and his staff from Clinica Sierra Vista in Bakersfield distribute medical needs and perform checkups on unhoused people along the Kern River.
    Blog
    Human Impact

    Protecting Unhoused Patients from the Harms of Encampment Sweeps

    November 08, 2024
    Blog
    Illustration of doctor treating a person experiencing homelessness in the field. Also called "backpack medicine"
    Blog
    Expert Perspective

    Perspective: Finding a Place to Be Somebody

    February 09, 2024
    Blog
    Blog
    Feature Story

    Homelessness Summit for Journalists Emphasizes Need for Firsthand Sources

    November 14, 2023
    Blog
    Man in baseball cap stands smiling on balcony of apartment building.
    Blog
    Human Impact

    Clinics Follow Health Pathways to Reach the Unhoused

    March 08, 2023
    Blog
    Street medicine team cleans wound on the leg of a woman experiencing homelessness.
    Blog
    Human Impact

    Street Medicine in California: ‘Go to the People’

    December 12, 2022
    Blog

    More Topics

    Learn more about other topics we focus on.

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    OAKLAND
    1438 Webster Street #400
    Oakland, CA 94612
    Tel: 510.238.1040 Fax: 510.201.2991
    Directions to CHCF Oakland

    SACRAMENTO
    1415 L Street #820
    Sacramento, CA 95814
    Tel: 916.329.4540 Fax: 916.329.4544
    Directions to CHCF Sacramento

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