El Rio Southeast Health Clinic

Tucson, Arizona (Pima County)

Rehab/expansion of vital health clinic providing critical medical, dental, and mental health services to Tucson’s predominately low-income, minority populations.

The Project

El Rio’s Southeast clinic opened in the summer of 2009 and within 10 years was serving 7,068 patients. While a relatively young building, the needs of the community had grown exponentially, and the clinic no longer had the space to meet the community’s expanded healthcare needs. The project rehabilitated 14,000 SF of the existing clinic and added 21,000 SF, bringing the total new clinic size to 35,000 SF.

Southeast’s success has come from providing culturally competent care, by meeting patients where they are, speaking to them in their language of preference, and acting on the social determinants that are negatively influencing their health. For example, in 2019 48% of all El Rio patients were best served in a language other than English.



In the new Southeast clinic, El Rio’s integrated health care team is able to provide a comprehensive suite of services including, on-site primary medical care, behavioral health services, dental care, laboratory, radiology, pharmacy, and new pediatric services.  The clinic also supports referral services for specialty care, insurance eligibility counseling, nutrition and wellness programs, and a community room to support community gatherings.

Community Impact

Financing

Project Partners