Greater San Francisco
2021 Community Health Snapshot
Serving communities around our San Francisco and South San Francisco medical facilities.
Coming
together
to improve
community
health
In 2021, Kaiser Permanente continued to respond urgently to the staggering health and economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on the communities we serve.
Together with our partners, we addressed the most critical health needs in our community: COVID-19 prevention and vaccination; food, housing, and economic security; and mental health and wellness. We prioritized support of low-income communities and communities of color, who continue to bear an unequal burden from the pandemic.
Protecting hard-hit communities
COVID-19 vaccines became widely available in 2021, but some communities hard hit by the pandemic faced barriers to getting vaccinated. Kaiser Permanente collaborated with public health departments, community health centers, and other trusted community and faith partners to address vaccine concerns and make it easy for people to get vaccinated.
For example, we funded GLIDE Foundation, which held 28 pop-up vaccine clinics in the Tenderloin neighborhood, providing more than 2,600 vaccines to individuals experiencing homelessness and those with little or no income. Our grant to the City of South San Francisco funded vaccine confidence outreach and language and appointment assistance in predominately Latinx neighborhoods, assisting 5,200 people to get vaccinated.
Providing critical support for social health needs
Good health requires more than high-quality medical care. Social health factors such as having enough healthy food and a safe place to live are also essential. As the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic wears on, Kaiser Permanente is intensifying efforts to meet the critical social health needs of our community.
Our $150,000 grant to the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank helped it expand training and support for San Francisco and Marin County school staff to enroll 2,000 eligible households in CalFresh and other food programs. Along the San Mateo County coast, our funding helped Pacifica Resource Center provide housing-focused case management and housing plans to assist 75 unhoused individuals.
Improving access to mental health care
Against the backdrop of a national shortage of mental health care professionals, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health needs in the community. In response, Kaiser Permanente is using its resources, reach, and partnerships to improve access to community mental health services and expand the mental health workforce pipeline.
Our support of The University of California, San Francisco’s Alliance Health Project helped fund the training of a diverse cohort of graduate students pursuing counseling careers who are typically underrepresented in the mental health workforce. Our 2-year $100,000 grant to Daly City Youth Health Center funds trauma-informed training for teachers and staff and support for student’s mental health resiliency at 5 Jefferson Union High School District schools.
By the Numbers
$92M
2021 Greater San Francisco
Total Community
Investment
9K
People received
Medical Financial Assistance
$68M
Subsidized health
care and coverage
27K
Youth and adults reached
through Educational Theatre
$4M
In grants, donations
and direct support
347
Medical residents trained
in our Graduate Medical
Education programs
Community health priorities
As part of our commitment to improve health and health equity in our community, every 3 years we conduct a rigorous and collaborative community health needs assessment. For 2021, Kaiser Permanente identified the following significant health priorities in our Greater San Francisco communities.
Access to
Care and Coverage
High quality, culturally, and linguistically appropriate health services in coordinated delivery systems.
Healthy Eating
Active Living
Opportunities to eat better and move more as part of daily life in order to prevent and reduce the impact of chronic conditions.
Housing and
Homelessness
All community members have access to quality, affordable, and stable housing.
Mental Health
and Wellness
Social and emotional health and well-being and access to high-quality behavioral health care services when needed.
