Dr. Loraine Gutierrez takes the blood pressure of Kaouthar Abdullah at the La Maestra Health Clinic in City Heights on Sept. 4, 2018. A new study by Health Affairs shows that San Diego County’s “Be There San Diego” has delivered a 20 percent reduction in heart attacks compared to the rest of the state. Faced with increased demand in East County, La Maestra Community Health Centers is expanding its services by purchasing storefront space on East Main Street in El Cajon.
Jeff Neumann, the nonprofit health provider’s chief financial officer, said Tuesday that the ongoing investment in El Cajon is driven by a gradual increase in the number of patients using La Maestra for their health care needs. Three El Cajon Zip codes — 92019, 92020 and 92021 — sent 8,621 patients in 2023, up from 7,619 in 2022. Nearly 10,000 patients, including many from the Chaldean Chrisitan and Afghanistan immigrant communities, are expected in fiscal 2024.
The plan, he added, is to move medical services from one of La Maestra’s existing El Cajon Clinics on First Street to buildings contained in a shopping center on East Main Street near Dixieline Lumber that is already home to a dental clinic the organization already operates within the same complex.