San Jose, Calif. (October 17, 2024) – Leaders from the Rotary Club of San Jose, Rotocare Bay Area, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, and the Western Association of the Order of Malta gathered today to launch a new mobile medical clinic that will provide free healthcare to the uninsured of Santa Clara County. The celebration was held at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in east San Jose and was attended by more than 150 community members.
The new mobile medical clinic came about through a unique collaboration of these four civic, religious and charitable organizations. The Rotary Club of San Jose, one of the ten largest Rotary clubs in the world, wanted to make a gift to the community that would have lasting impact, and decided to focus on healthcare for homeless and uninsured people. Conversations started between the Rotary Club president at the time, Steve Borkenhagen, and Mike Blach, a Rotary Club past president and current co-hospitaller of the Order of Malta, which then led to a conversation with Catholic Charities CEO Greg Kepferle, who ultimately came up with the idea of a mobile medical clinic. Rotocare Bay Area, which operates free medical clinics throughout the East Bay and in San Jose, jumped in to join the emerging partnership and provided guidance on licensing and operations.
In the end, the Rotary Club ended up making a $500,000 gift to Catholic Charities, who agreed to serve as the primary operator of the Clinic. Catholic Charities then contracted with a custom RV coach builder in southern California to have a new, 38’ custom mobile clinic built from scratch. Rotocare is contributing medical volunteers, a medical director, licensing and insurance for the Clinic, and the Order is providing medical and non-medical volunteers to expand the days the Clinic will be open by one to two days every week, initially.
The Order of Malta also agreed to provide critical support for the annual maintenance and operation of the RV.
Through this unique four-party partnership, the Rotary Mobile Medical Clinic will be able to provide free medical and behavioral healthcare, as well as social work, to thousands in the Santa Clara Valley. The Health Trust of Santa Clara County estimates that 5% of the County’s population lacks medical insurance, which translates to about 100,000 residents.
“I’m delighted to see this dream come to fruition,” commented Blach. “We’ve worked diligently for more than three years to bring about today,” he added. “We know the hard work starts now, however, as we go into the ‘start-up’ phase of this operation. On behalf of the Order, I’m very grateful to our partners for joining with us and creating this new way for us to live out our charism of serving the sick and poor.”
Blach recognized early on that this project was more than one person could handle, so he recruited his friend and past leader of the San Jose Region, Vic Giacalone, as a co-leader. Giacalone has deep experience in working with the poor, especially the homeless of San Jose, as he heads up the San Jose Region’s distribution of care and hygiene kits every two weeks to homeless encampments throughout the city. Giacalone has provided invaluable guidance and insights, as well as his extensive network.
The new Clinic will start appearing in east and central San Jose, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and Mountain View in the next two weeks. The organizers are aiming to have the Clinic open four days a week initially, expanding to six or seven days a week as the volunteer base grows over time.
If you are a medical professional and would like to learn more about volunteering, please contact either Mike Blach (mike.blach@blach.com) or Vic Giacalone (vicg@besteleco.com).
