After he relocated from Afghanistan to the Central Coast, Dr. Ahmad Nooristani was surprised by the lack of health care available for people without insurance. In an effort to change that, he founded the SLO Noor Foundation to offer free health care for the uninsured.
SLO Noor Foundation Practice Manager Barbara Alarcon said the company has been active in the community for a little more than a decade and has primary care doctors who see patients from San Miguel down to Santa Maria.
Alarcon said the SLO Noor Foundation applied for a grant in 2022 that allowed the nonprofit to bring health care to different areas of the Central Coast, and it began operating mobile clinics.
“We purchased a mobile RV, and we are contracted to be at [certain] sites,” she said. “We signed a contract with People’s Self-Help [Housing] and public libraries that allow us to set up shop there for a day or a half day to see patients. We pretty much go anywhere that will allow us.”
For women in Santa Maria, Alarcon said they can connect with the Mobile Women’s Health Unit, which provide free Pap smears. For SLO County residents, SLO Noor refers residents to a center that does free Pap smears and STD testing, as it doesn’t have the funding to offer those services full time.
The foundation also offers those without insurance the ability to access medical, vision, and dental care with little to no wait at its brick-and-mortar office at 1428 Phillip’s Lane, suite 203, in SLO. Open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., people can call (805) 439-1797 to set up an appointment.
The company connects community members to laboratory testing, mammograms, radiology, physical therapy, health education, dental exams, oral surgery, dental X-rays, eye exams, glaucoma care, cataract exams, and more.
With more than 20 years in the health care field, Alarcon said she started working at the SLO Noor Foundation because it works to help people “when they’re at their lowest.”
The company has one paid nurse practitioner, and the rest of the providers and staff are volunteers who come from different fields and help make its mission possible, she said.
“We have students here that are training for different clinical hours and different programs; we have retired folks that have done their clinical work or retired doctors in the community that come in and give some free practice to our patients,” she said.
Every cent the foundation receives is given back to patient care, Alarcon said, which means SLO Noor can help everyone who comes through the door.
“I’ve worked at 10 different offices in this area, but when you have a patient that walks in through your front door and they don’t have any health insurance and they have something crazy going on and they’re scared and you’re able to grab that person and give them all the resources that they need, give them the support and padding they need, and then figure out what’s going on with them and make them better, there’s not much else out there that’s as fulfilling,” she said.
Feeling fulfilled when seeing the impacts that health care can bring to those who need it is a universal experience at the SLO Noor Foundation, Alarcon said.
While the company serves those without insurance, it understands that health care is hard to come by for everyone. In a way to further help the community, the SLO Noor Foundation can help those in between doctor appointments fill needed prescriptions.
Alarcon said she wants to emphasize that the clinic is a safe space, and it won’t ask for identification if a community member doesn’t feel comfortable providing it.
“I think that the environment that we are moving into come January, that security people have had may no longer be there, or it might be wavering, and I don’t want it to mean people are no longer getting health care,” she said. “I want them to know—specifically in the political environment we’re moving into—that we are here, we will keep our doors open, and we will continue to keep their information and their health care safe.”
Highlight
• Former Lompoc Mayor Jenelle Osborne is poised to become the new CEO of the Northern Santa Barbara County EconAlliance. Osborne, who served on the nonprofit’s board from 2016-18, will take the reins in early January from EconAlliance co-founder and Initiatives Director Victoria Conner, who is retiring from the organization. The new CEO will be introduced at the organization’s annual dinner and Future Forum Jan. 8, at The Craft House at the Corque in Solvang. EconAlliance’s mission is to build awareness, advocacy, support, and appreciation for Northern Santa Barbara County industries and communities. Visit econalliance.org for more informaiton.
Reach New Times Staff Writer Samantha Herrera, from the Sun’s sister paper, at sherrera@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 2-12, 2025.