HISTORY OF CFHE
After completing medical school and launching his career, Dr. Dan Kashani began practicing medicine in 1999 at a variety of small clinics throughout the San Fernando Valley. By serving as a family practice physician in communities like Pacoima, Reseda and Panorama City, Dr. Kashani found a home and his new calling – serving low-income, immigrant families with little or no access to affordable health care.
The numbers highlight the need in the community. According to 2010 U.S. Census, the Panorama City area is 78.7 percent Hispanic, with 27.7 percent of residents living below the poverty line (American Community Survey, 2013 Estimate). Census figures also note that 84.2 percent of the community was in a Medically Underserved Area, largely because of the limited number of primary care providers, in addition to high infant mortality, high poverty and/or a high elderly population.
With a critical challenge before him, Dr. Kashani founded CFHE in 2009 to provide quality and affordable health care services to a growing, first-generation and a predominately Spanish-speaking community in Panorama City and other adjacent communities in the San Fernando Valley.
In August of 2015, CFHE was fully designated a Federally Qualified Health Center, which allows health care organizations to provide preventive health, dental, and mental health services; hospital and specialty care services; as well as transportation services necessary for adequate patient care in underserved communities. FQHCs also qualify for enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid*, as well as other benefits, and may provide services on a sliding pay scale.
In an area with high incidence of diabetes, heart problems, hypertension and high cholesterol, CFHE today serves more than 20,000 low-income, diverse patients and families each year with no or limited health insurance coverage. In addition to medical treatment, CFHE works with community organizations to provide health education programs in the community, like smoking cessation and workshops to minimize the impacts of chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and heart problems.