For Auld Lang Syne: 2018 in Review

Before we venture into a new year, we'd like to take a moment to reflect and take a good, hard look at 2018: the pretty and the ugly. As you may know, healthcare is no small concern for many-- according to recent polls, over 70% of Americans believe that healthcare access is a problem in need of reform. And who can blame them? Even outside of the most vulnerable populations,

Many families are one medical bill away

from becoming homeless.

In fact, medical bills were the largest cause for bankruptcies in the United States last year, and individuals all throughout the country can feel this instability--from furloughed federal employees to undocumented residents to those who just cannot afford that higher insurance premium. Considering the 40,000 uninsured individuals and 19,000 undocumented residents in this county without access to healthcare, a significant amount of the Central Coast was and still is at risk.

Now those numbers may look grim, but they haven't stopped this community from unifying in a cause to relieve many of those whose quality of life has been jeopardized. In fact, we at the SLO Noor Foundation were downright amazed at the outcomes we saw from 2018. With the support of the community, we raised over $350,000 in donations that will help in improving lives.

We were honored to be newly named grant recipients by the California Wellness Foundation and the B. Wayne Hughes, Jr. Charitable Foundation, Delta Dental, the Henry W. Bull Foundation, and the Bank of the Sierra. We're also exceedingly grateful to have received Talley Vineyard's award from the Fund for Vineyard and Farm Workers as well as proceeds from People Helping People's Needs N' Wishes Holiday Fundraiser and ICare International's Eye Will Survive Disco Benefit.

Like we said, the generosity coming from this community in support of our mission has left us practically speechless. With these funds, w e have provided medical, dental, and vision services to those without that safety net.

We were able to meet with patients at over 7,000 patient visits in 2018, accommodating a growth of 40% from the previous year and meeting the needs of so many who would have no options otherwise. Many of our patients frequently express how relieved and even shocked they were upon finding the SLO Noor Foundation--one of the most common comment we hear from our patients is...

"I just couldn't believe it."

Couldn't believe they could get a mammogram or a root canal. Didn't think that physical therapy or a prescription refill was possible. Up until their first appointment with us, many would endure pain or heath concerns without a diagnosis let alone any treatment, and when life day to day becomes a test of how many symptoms you can live with, it's no wonder that bankruptcy or homelessness becomes an ongoing threat.

Their stories and the great need drove Dr. Ahmad Nooristani to open the SLO Noor Foundation seven years ago--the same reason why we as well as our volunteer providers and medical professionals commit to helping those without options find relief, healing, and hope. So as we bid farewell to 2018, we'd like to get this year going on the right foot. We've already partnered with Cal Poly's Kinesiology Department to open a mobile clinic providing prenatal services uninsured pregnant women, and we plan to open another clinic location in Santa Maria or the surrounding area sometime this year.

None of this, however, would have been possible without the support of this community and beyond. Thank you again for coming together to help heal the Central Coast and expect to see big progress on our part. You better believe it--we're just getting started.▲

Keeping it Local

We were thrilled to meet with local politicians after this midterm election and talk about the healthcare needs in this county! Thank you to our newly-elected council members, Morro Bay's Dawn Addis, Grover Beach's Miriam Shah, Maria Garcia from Paso Robles, and Arroyo Grande's Jimmy Paulding!▲