Specialty Cardiology care has been offered at Vista Community Clinic’s VCC: Vale Terrace location since December 2020. The providing cardiology team, made up of Dr. Mehran Moussavian and Lisa Alvarez, NP, has already seen over 300 patients since it began providing care, and patients are happy with the new option. Bringing this type of care to local neighborhoods means that patients experiencing economic hardships and/or those that lack insurance now have access.
The hard reality is that heart disease kills more Americans than all cancers combined.
And when insurance and/or personal finances restrict patients from accessing the right kind of care, communities are put at risk and health disparities grow. The good news is that approximately 80% of these cases can be prevented with the right treatment, making access to proper care a vital part of the community. VCC believes they’re on the right track to creating a model that everyone can benefit from, and so far their patients have responded enthusiastically; enjoying the convenience of having the specialty service in the same place they receive primary care. The clinic is using the same electronic medical record system among all services right now, so patients’ clinicians can communicate seamlessly across services to ensure the each person is getting the right care from different angles.
The cardiology team also recognizes this set up is a “win-win” for the patients; they are preventing hospitalizations and ER visits, many times for patients that didn’t have the option just a few short months ago. Cardiology care is provided every Monday from 8:00am – 4:00pm at 1000 Vale Terrace Drive. The on-site team will provide patients with general cardiology consultation; hypertension, heart failure, and lipid management; vein and vascular care. Current and prospective patients interested in learning more are encouraged to call 760-631-5000 and speak with a Patient Service Representative.
About Vista Community Clinic
With nine state-of-the-art locations in North San Diego, Orange and Riverside Counties, VCC provides affordable, high quality health care to more than 61,000 community residents. Services offered by VCC include primary care, pediatrics, prenatal and women’s health, optometry, chiropractic care, dental health, podiatry, acupuncture and behavioral health services. VCC also offers a wide array of community health education programs which are free and open to all community residents. VCC is recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level 3 (highest) Patient-Centered Medical Home, and is the recipient of the HRSA National Quality Leader Seal for exceeding national clinical quality benchmarks. For more information call 844.308.5003 or visit www.vcc.org.
Author credit: Chief Medical Officer for VCC, Dr. Sarah Fatland
