For years after her diabetes analysis, a affected person at St. John’s Group Well being had saved her blood sugar ranges in examine.
Then, federal immigration raids intensified throughout the area. She stayed dwelling, fearing federal brokers would detain her. The affected person didn’t go to the grocery retailer to purchase meals and ate what was in her dwelling — tortillas and occasional — for 5 days. Ultimately, she canceled one among her common appointments at a St. John’s clinic.
Workers with the well being community, which operates 28 places in Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire, known as the affected person and supplied to do the appointment at her dwelling, a brand new service that St. John’s launched final month in response to heightened considerations round immigration raids.
Medical workers took her blood sugar ranges. She was on the verge of falling right into a diabetic coma, mentioned Jim Mangia, president and CEO of St. John’s.
“Thank God we got there before she had serious injury,” Mangia mentioned. “That’s why it’s so important we provide this support.”
Within the weeks since federal immigration raids have heightened, Mangia mentioned appointment cancellation and no-show charges jumped to 30% throughout all St. John’s clinics in and round Los Angeles and the Inland Empire.
Usually, solely about 8% to 9% of sufferers cancel or don’t go to appointments.
Undocumented immigrants and residents alike are staying dwelling out of worry that they might be detained by federal immigration authorities, St. John’s well being officers say. When Trump took workplace in January, he additionally rapidly stripped a Biden-era rule that protected hospitals, clinics, homes of worship, faculties and different “sensitive locations” from immigration raids.
In response, St. John’s is assembly its sufferers the place they’re at. If a affected person doesn’t present as much as their appointment, the clinic calls to see in the event that they’d wish to transition to a telehealth appointment.
When an in-person appointment is required, a physician, nurse and medical assistant also can see sufferers at their properties by way of the Healthcare With out Concern program launched final month. As immigration raids proceed, Mangia mentioned St. John’s is beefing up staffing for this system.
It’s the mission of St. John’s — a federally certified community of nonprofit well being facilities and several other cell clinics that serve round 25,000 undocumented sufferers — to supply take care of anybody, Mangia mentioned.
“It’s a moral reflection of who St. John’s is,” Mangia mentioned. “We believe that folks have a right to health care.”
When she clocks in at a St. John’s clinic in South Los Angeles, Dr. Olusanya Bukola sees the impression of current immigration raids. Usually, the ready room is full of sufferers and crowds pouring into the parking zone and greater than a dozen individuals lining up for walk-ins. Now, Bukola mentioned only a handful of sufferers are on the clinic every morning.
When sufferers worry going to their physician’s appointments, Bukola mentioned it will probably disrupt their well being and, in some instances, create public well being considerations. A canceled or skipped appointment may imply {that a} affected person with a persistent situation can’t get the care they want, a baby can’t be vaccinated or that sufferers can’t get STI testing and different essential screenings.
“It is very concerning for us as providers that we are not able to see our patients to continue what we already have (and) what is already well controlled,” Bukola mentioned.
Bukola now spends a portion of her shift calling sufferers and changing their in-person appointments to telehealth visits. Throughout an at-home go to earlier than the current improve in immigration raids, Bukola mentioned she met with a affected person who was documented however nonetheless feared leaving her dwelling.
The Group Clinic Affiliation of Los Angeles County, a coalition of nonprofit group well being facilities like St. John’s, is monitoring the impression of federal immigration enforcement throughout the county. Thus far, no-show and cancellation knowledge from member clinics haven’t proven a transparent development, however the affiliation’s president and CEO Louise McCarthy mentioned that’s to be anticipated, given the scale of L.A. and the various populations that totally different clinics serve.
McCarthy mentioned the affiliation is working with companions to additional assess the info to seek for patterns amongst clinics throughout the county.
The affiliation can also be partnering with authorized help and group advocacy teams to coach group well being clinics on how they’ll legally reply to federal immigration authorities, safeguard their sufferers’ protected well being data and decrease impression on sufferers. By legislation, McCarthy mentioned, federally certified well being facilities are required to serve everybody of their group.
“There’s sort of a mismatch in policies here,” McCarthy mentioned, when clinics are required to serve everybody however the potential for raids retains them away.
Final week, a St. John’s cell clinic had a run-in with federal immigration authorities in Downey, Mangia mentioned.
Sufferers lined up for companies when unmarked autos and armed brokers approached, Mangia mentioned. Clinic workers and safety closed the gates and advised brokers they’d must see a warrant signed by a choose earlier than they’d let immigration authorities inside. Information unfold to group members, who got here out to protest their presence and movie the authorities, and ultimately the brokers left.
“We’ve done a lot of training with our staff so that they could be prepared,” Mangia mentioned, “to be able to prevent them from coming in and harassing our patients and kidnapping our patients.”
After the incident, Mangia mentioned, St. John’s is doing extra coaching with workers and rising safety at clinics and cell clinics. Workers additionally educates sufferers on their rights within the occasion of an immigration enforcement.
On the similar time, clinics like St. John’s are combating proposed authorities funding cuts, together with a proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom to roll again Medi-Cal funding for undocumented individuals to offset a projected $12 billion state finances deficit. Newsom’s proposed cuts would intestine $53 million from St. John’s annual finances, Mangia mentioned.
Mangia plans to host a city corridor with elected officers subsequent week forward of the June 27 deadline for lawmakers to finalize a state finances.
Group well being clinics have made strides in Los Angeles County to supply care to increasingly individuals, McCarthy mentioned, however looming finances cuts may threaten that progress.
“We are in terrifying times,” McCarthy mentioned, “when it comes to trying to predict what our future looks like.”
Initially Revealed: June 20, 2025 at 4:48 AM PDT
