The Ravenswood Family Health Center in East Palo Alto has been given a $100,000 grant from the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and its parent company, Sutter Health, so the clinic can expand its diabetes management program.

The number of diabetes patients at the East Palo Alto clinic has increased more than 100 percent in the last four years, with the clinic currently treating more than 1,000 adults with diabetes. Of those patients, 58 percent are Latino, 23 percent are Pacific Islander and 15 percent are African American.

"Rates of new diabetes cases among (clinic) patients of ethnic minorities are increasing annually," Luisa Buada, CEO of the clinic, said. "By developing the infrastructure for a coordinated, seamless continuum of care, our diabetes patients will benefit and be better informed and aware of the resources available to them, know how to access the support they need, and understand what steps they need to take to improve their condition."

"Without the support of Sutter Health and the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, we would not have been able to expand this vital and much needed community program," Buada added. "We appreciate the Palo Alto Medical Foundation's continued support of our clinic."

The grant to the Ravenswood Family Health Center is part of $2.5 million in grants that Sutter Health awarded in October to 26 medical and dental clinics in Northern California that serve large percentages of low-income patients, many of whom are uninsured.

— Don Kazak