A Healthcare Hub for the Antelope Valley

Health care access

Antelope Valley

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Healthcare access in the Antelope Valley is severely limited by systemic, geographic, and socioeconomic barriers. The region faces one of the highest preventable hospitalization rates in L.A. County—888 per 100,000 adults—reflecting limited access to primary care. Despite a growing population, there are only two hospitals and six licensed beds per 10,000 residents, far below the county average. The area is federally designated as both a Medically Underserved Area and a Health Professional Shortage Area. Nearly 18% of residents live below the poverty line, and many face long commutes and limited public transit. While overall insurance rates may seem stable, communities of color remain disproportionately uninsured and experience worse health outcomes, including higher infant mortality among Black residents. These overlapping inequities underscore the urgent need for expanded, local, and integrated healthcare solutions to reduce strain, prevent illness, and improve long-term well-being.

This grant will support the development of a comprehensive Access Center in the City of Palmdale, designed in part to address the significant healthcare disparities and service gaps faced by residents of the Antelope Valley. The Center will serve as a centralized, no-cost access point for individuals and families—particularly those experiencing poverty, housing instability, and transportation barriers—who face difficulty accessing timely, preventive, and specialty care.
To meet this need, the Access Center will coordinate partnerships with mobile health providers, including general medical clinics, women’s health specialists, dental care providers, and optometrists, to deliver on-site services directly to the community. These services will be offered on a rotating basis to ensure consistent access and reduce reliance on emergency departments for preventable conditions.
In addition to physical health services, the Center will host mental health support groups and collaborate with licensed therapists and clinicians to provide accessible behavioral health care, including trauma-informed counseling and wellness programming. These partnerships will help reduce stigma and improve follow-through on mental health referrals.
By creating a trusted, community-based location for integrated care, the Health Access Center will reduce systemic barriers, address social determinants of health, and improve overall wellness and equity for underserved populations across the Antelope Valley.

If our work is successful, Los Angeles County—particularly the Antelope Valley—will experience a measurable improvement in health equity, access, and outcomes for historically underserved populations. Residents who previously faced barriers due to income, geography, or lack of providers will have consistent, no-cost access to essential services including medical, dental, vision, and mental health care. By bringing coordinated care directly into the community through mobile partners and on-site services, we will reduce preventable hospitalizations, close service gaps, and improve early intervention. The region will see increased trust in healthcare systems, reduced strain on emergency services, and healthier, more stable families. Most importantly, this model will demonstrate that targeted, community-centered interventions can effectively reduce disparities and serve as a blueprint for expanding access across other underserved areas of the County.