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Desert Healthcare District & Foundation Launches Comprehensive Wellness Resource Website

CVHIP.com Includes Links to Almost 1,000 Health and Wellness Resources in Coachella Valley

Desert Healthcare District & Foundation, in partnership with the City of Palm Springs, unveiled a significant new internet-based platform, providing access to free and low-cost services and resources to support the health and wellness of everyone in the Coachella Valley. Called CV HIP (Coachella Valley Health Info Place), the easy-to-navigate site is a free online information center with links to nearly 1,000 Coachella Valley health and wellness resources and providers. The site (in multiple languages) enables anyone to find providers that offer programs on a wide range of wellness and healthy living topics, including information about health screenings, Diabetes, food & nutrition, senior services, sexual health, counseling, pediatric healthcare, local sports & recreation, food assistance, financial & legal aid, and much more.

“Creating CV HIP was an extensive project and one that had not been done before in the Coachella Valley.” said Herb K. Schultz, Desert Healthcare District & Foundation CEO. “We held extensive conversations with area social workers and case managers to understand the challenges they experienced while connecting people with the services they needed. These conversations revealed a common issue: whether the clients were seeking information on food pantries, substance abuse treatment, housing alternatives, or employment services, it was a challenge to efficiently match people with the community organizations that could help them.”

The first step in this process was to identify all of the free and low-cost services/resources available to Coachella Valley residents and merge them into an easy to navigate website, available in multiple languages. Even the best websites can be out of date, which meant that the District team needed to establish a method for the public and service providers to update their information on an ongoing basis. To support this, service providers in CVHIP will be contacted on a regular basis to keep their information current, thus ensuring an accurate database.

Palm Springs Mayor pro tem J.R. Roberts has been a champion of the project since funds were allocated from the proceeds of the ‘Mayor’s Healthy Planet Healthy You 10 mile and 5 K Race and Wellness Festival.’ “This is a major advance in terms of helping people to get, and stay, healthy. CV HIP is for the mother dealing with food insecurity… not knowing where to go for urgently needed food for her family. CV HIP is for the person that is homeless and struggling with the summer heat. CV HIP can point that person to a cooling center and possibly save a life. CV HIP is for first responders, 911 operators, and social workers – everyone – to help find free and low-cost healthcare and services for those that are distressed. CVHIP.com is the ‘ultimate healthcare Google for the Valley.”

Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. said of the project “Everyone deserves access to high quality, affordable health care and other social services that give them the opportunity to lead a productive and healthy life. One of the key access barriers found in my 2010 Coachella Valley Health Care Initiative was that many residents simply didn’t know what local services were available to them. This tool will help solve the problem. I am thrilled to see that this new resource will be free and available to all residents of the Coachella Valley.”

Echoing Dr. Ruiz, Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez added: “Having worked in the field of community health, I know education and outreach to our community members are important. Many times, individuals are unaware of services that are available and, for this reason, don’t access them. CV HIP will help people find and access health resources available in the community, from their community health center to events such as the Flying Doctors or the Migrant Health Resource Fair. This Web site is a great use of technology and a valuable guide that will go a long way toward creating healthier communities.”

About Desert Healthcare District/Foundation
The Desert Healthcare District is local government agency formed in 1948 whose mission is to achieve optimal health at all stages of life for all District residents. The District includes more than 200,000 residents and encompasses the cities of Desert Hot Springs, Palm Springs, Cathedral City, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert (west of Cook Street), and unincorporated areas of Riverside County. The District and its affiliated nonprofit Desert Healthcare Foundation, together, are one of the largest funders in the Coachella Valley, granting more than $4 million annually to nonprofit, community-based and provider organizations. These funds are used to assist residents – especially the underserved – in accessing vitally needed resources, such as primary and behavioral healthcare, housing, food, and transportation resources. For more information about Desert Healthcare District & Foundation, please visit DHCD.org or call 760-323-6113.

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