Westley Health Centers
by Lorine Parks
“My father taught me that your work is your life. And my mother taught me to have respect for everything,” so I feel that way for each patient, no matter who they are. If someone walks in with a bloody head and needs to go to the Emergency Room, at Wesley I can help them get there.”
Daniela Rodriguez shared her career at Wesley Health Centers, which provide service to a wide area. She lives in Downey, but has her office is in City of Industry. Starting right out of high school Daniela has worked there for ten years. She credits an Italian mother and a Hispanic father for her name.
If patients have no income or only a part-time job, they don’t have to pay for their medical care. We help them with their Covered California application, if they’re eligible for federal “Obama-care,” Daniela explained. The mission of JWCH Health Institute is “to improve the health state and well-being of underserved segments of the population of Los Angeles area through the direct provision of coordination of health care, health education and research.”
The Wesley Health Center in Downey, for example, provides health care services for the entire family. The health center is conveniently located in close proximity to Paramount and Cerritos. Services offered at Wesley Health Centers (Downey) include: Primary Health Care, Pediatrics, Pregnancy Test, HIV/STD Testing Diabetes Care, Prenatal Care, Reproductive Health, Substance Abuse Counseling, Laboratory Services and Specialty Referrals.
“We accept most health coverage and no one is turned away for lack of ability to pay. We also have enrollment specialists on-site,” added Daniela. “We are open in Downey Monday-Friday from 8 am to 5 pm, and are located at 8350 Firestone Boulevard, between Brookshire and Patton. Potential patients can call for an appointment at (562) 867-7999.”
“It’s all a matter of giving back to the community,” Daniela says, when asked why she chose this line of service. Greg Welch has introduced her two weeks in a row as his “special” guest. If she becomes a member, she sounds like someone who is, as Angelo Cardono always likes to call it, “A Rotarian without knowing it.”