For people without health insurance, healthcare often becomes a last resort instead of a routine part of life. Without a regular doctor, many rely on the emergency department as their primary source of care for routine health concerns that are more appropriately managed in primary or urgent care settings.
With that approach, preventive care and regular checkups fall by the wayside, causing small, manageable issues to go unaddressed until they escalate into serious health problems. Over time, the result is poorer health outcomes for individuals and added strain on emergency departments.
The RotaCare solution
That gap between need and access is where RotaCare steps in. On Wednesday evenings, RotaCare takes over the Seaside Family Health Center building to provide free medical care to uninsured, low-income individuals and families. It’s a consistent, reliable place to turn when care is otherwise out of reach.
Patients are seen for common issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and asthma, and receive free care including lab work, diagnostic testing, medications, medical supplies, nutrition counseling, and referrals.
And it’s run almost entirely by volunteers. Doctors, advanced practice providers, nurses, physical therapists, dietitians, interpreters, and administrative staff donate their time because they believe healthcare should be accessible regardless of insurance status.
“We care for a lot of people who are working and contributing to the community but simply can’t afford health insurance,” says Dr. Gregory Thompson, RotaCare’s medical director. “Health and well-being shouldn't be dictated by income. Everyone deserves quality healthcare.”
Made possible by partnership
Rotacare Monterey team
Support from Montage Health helps keep RotaCare’s doors open week after week. Through annual grants, free laboratory and diagnostic services, and volunteer staff, Montage Health helps ensure RotaCare has the resources it needs to care for those who need it most.
“We’re proud to support programs that remove barriers to care and strengthen our community’s health,” says Yasmine Elsherbini, Montage Health’s director of community health and wellness. “When people have reliable, consistent healthcare, it benefits not just the individual, but the entire healthcare system and community.”
A legacy of neighbors caring for neighbors
RotaCare Monterey was founded in 1995 by local Rotarians who saw firsthand how many people were falling through the cracks. Today, it's part of a broader network of RotaCare clinics operating throughout the Bay Area and California. Each clinic is locally supported and independently run, but all share the same mission: providing quality, compassionate medical care to people who would otherwise go without it.
“RotaCare is special in that it lets doctors and other providers practice medicine the way it was meant to be practiced,” Thompson says. “There’s no insurance paperwork, no billing, no complex administrative processes. It’s truly patient-centered care.”
Building a healthy community
RotaCare is just one of hundreds of local organizations and programs that Montage Health supports through our Community Benefit program.
Learn about the program
