Community Health Needs Assessment (Coachella Valley)
Author: HARC, Inc.
Publication: Desert Healthcare District and Foundation
Date: 2020
Historically, the Desert Healthcare District and Foundation boundaries encompassed the western Coachella Valley. In 2018, eastern Coachella Valley voters approved extending the District boundaries to serve the entire Coachella Valley, more than doubling its coverage area. The expansion created a new demographic and geographic landscape, with subsequent changes in health priorities. One major demographic shi ft that emerged from the expansion is that the majority (50.6%) of Coachella Valley residents are Hispanic/Latino and 40% prefer to speak Spanish at home. This report demonstrates significant disparities between the rich and the poor. Poverty is heavily concentrated in geographically isolated communities of North Shore, Garnet, Indio Hills, Mecca, Sky Valley and Thousand Palms — all communities in the east end of the valley or north of the Inte rstate 10 freeway. Communities with higher concentrations of poverty also exhibit lower rates of medical coverage. In many instances people employed in permanent, fulltime positions, still do not have healthcare insurance. It is also communities with high poverty rates that live in poorly designed built environments and are exposed to numerous contaminants.
