On the first floor of the old general hospital building at Los Angeles County USC Medical Center is the Wellness Center, home to several community-based organizations.
“We called it the 'one-stop shop,' where people could get wraparound services that would augment resiliency and wellness for community members,” said Dr. Karla Gonzalez, medical director at the Wellness Center.
It offers free programs and services to improve the health and well-being of some of LA’s most underserved populations in Boyle Heights and East LA. The center serves close to 38,000 people a year — both community members and patients from the LA County USC Hospital. Most of the people who participate are Spanish speakers who work multiple jobs and lack regular medical insurance. For many, it’s their first interaction with a formal health care system.
“I can walk in and just introduce myself in Spanish, and I immediately just see the sense of relief,” said Gonzalez. “Whatever it is, somebody speaks my language.”
She says her focus isn’t just about improving medical markers such as blood pressure and cholesterol, but helping people reach their wellness goals.
“It’s part of my job and part of our mission here at the Wellness Center to meet them where they’re at,” said Gonzalez. “We’re like the Google Maps. We take them where they want to go.”
There are all kinds of health management classes to help participants make meaningful lifestyle changes. One of them highlighted proper nutrition and how to make healthier choices. Classes are offered in both English and Spanish.
“Really, what we need is all the wraparound services,” said Gonzalez. “So we’re talking about how to cope with chronic disease, how to cope with chronic pain, and how to keep your weight down, weight management, physical activity, support groups.”
Occupational therapist Karin Blen teaches a class on coping with stress.
“I think one of the hardest things right now with the economy we’re finding is how expensive healthy food is,” she said to the class.
Blen noted that one of the most common question she gets is how to deal with chronic pain.
“We deal with acute traumas,” she said. “They’re in a car accident, like we saw someone today, and now their life is so different, and they don’t know how to navigate it because they don’t know what tools are available to them.”
“I don’t think a lot of people take time to realize whether your reactions or behavior is caused by stress,” said Christian Dominguez, a student at Cal State LA who was coming to the Wellness Center for the first time.
But no matter what classes participants choose to take, Wellness Center leaders hope they’re able to empower the most vulnerable in the community to boost their health and happiness.