CenCal Health has awarded 16 grants totaling $5,542,406 to support the critical healthcare needs identified in the latest community assessment reports for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
CenCal Health, the Medi-Cal managed care plan for both counties, is reinvesting Medi-Cal funds back into its service area through the Medi-Cal Capacity, Access and Workforce Development Grant Program (Capacity Grants).
Started in January, Capacity Grants are designed to expand healthcare access and capacity through strategic funding aimed at provider recruitment, workforce training and education, and medical practice support.
For the inaugural round of funding, Capacity Grants prioritized primary care and pediatrics, behavioral health, and specialty care services.
CenCal Health is the local Medi-Cal health plan that partners with local physicians, hospitals, clinics and other providers, in delivering health care services to more than 242,000 members – one in three residents of Santa Barbara County and one in four residents of San Luis Obispo County.
“This grant program presents a key opportunity for CenCal Health to support the local medical community in addressing our region’s healthcare needs,” said Marina Owen, CenCal Health CEO.
“Our Board of Directors, made up of health professionals and community leaders, is united in carrying out this strategy to broaden access to care for all residents on the Central Coast, including CenCal Health members,” Owen said.
The current funding of 16 grant recipients will support the hiring and recruitment of 34 healthcare professionals, including providers in family medicine, pediatrics, endocrinology, obstetrics and gynecology, as well as behavioral health, CenCall said.
Of the more than $5.5 million in Capacity Grants funding, $2,421,242 was allocated in Santa Barbara County, and $3,121,164 in San Luis Obispo County.
In Santa Barbara County, the 2025 capacity grant recipients are: Dignity Health dba Pacific Central Coast Health Centers; Jeffrey Kaplan MD, Pediatric Medicine Inc.; Lompoc Valley Medical Center; Peter Alan Krause Medical Corporation; Robert S. Barry, M.D. Inc.; Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics; Santa Barbara Public Health Department; and Open Minds.
Grant recipients in San Luis Obispo County are: Bravo Pediatrics; Developmental Specialty Partners; Esteem Health; Monarch Behavior Solutions, Patterson and Tedford Pediatrics; SLO Healthcare Workforce Partnership, and Well-Being Mental Health Inc.
Community Health Centers of the Central Coast (CHCCC), in both San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, also received grant funding.
The Capacity Grants application cycle opened in January 2025. CenCal Health received 32 applications from 31 unique providers and organizations in both counties with total funding requested at $15.8 million.
Of the applications received, 58% were from pediatrics and primary care providers, with 70% of the applications requesting hiring and recruitment support.
“The response was so telling – the need is great,” said Jordan Turetsky, CenCal Health chief strategic engagement officer. “We want to support local healthcare providers, especially around the recruitment of physicians and other practitioners. Increasing healthcare access and expanding capacity on the Central Coast is our deeply shared goal.”
Focus areas
In the program’s first year, the focus of Capacity Grants has been on primary care physician and pediatrician recruitment, retention, and other support for medical practices to increase access for Medi-Cal members.
The program is also addressing the need for more pediatric behavioral services, and the requisite behavioral health providers to expand treatment options for patients.
Another aspect the program considered in reviewing applications and awarding grants was the level of need geographically, prioritizing specific under-served communities.
To focus on key needs, CenCal Health referenced internal data, including two annually conducted reports and a biannual member survey managed by the California Department of Health Care Services as well as the recent Community Health Improvement Plan for San Luis Obispo and the latest Community Health Needs Assessment for Santa Barbara County.
For more on the Workforce Capacity Grant Program, visit https://www.cencalhealth.org/capacitygrants.
Review CenCal Health’s 2025 Community Report at CenCal2025.org.