Santa Cruz County is moving to end core public health clinic services, starting with the closure or outsourcing of in-house X-ray and laboratory functions; these diagnostics are essential for uninsured patients and enable rapid response to outbreaks. Administrators are pursuing this change under the promise of $2 million in savings — a short-sighted plan that may destabilize clinic health leading to a 7.5% drop in patient volume (just 1,065 people according to county estimates) would wipe out projected savings.

As public health guardians, we see a better path: expanding clinical services and investment in frontline staff to sustain public health services while generating revenue to benefit our residents and system.

For over 50 years, our county clinics served as a lifeline for roughly 14

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