Casa de Salud

Always by your side

Casa de Salud removes barriers to health care and bridges the access gap for St. Louis' diverse immigrant community of more than 20,000 uninsured individuals across more than 45 counties in Missouri and Illinois who represent more than 80 countries. Its programs include a primary care clinic, case management program and mental health collaborative.

The Casa primary care clinic opened its doors in 2010 with a targeted focus on providing high-quality health care in incremental steps to avoid spreading limited resources too thin. After building trust and capacity for several years providing primary care, a case management program launched in 2015 followed by a mental health collaborative in 2018. Case managers act as patient navigators, using clear communication and evidence-based strategies to empower patients and connect them with specialists when needed. Through the collaborative, mental health professionals can offer trauma-informed and culturally sensitive therapy to low-income, uninsured and foreign-born individuals.

Casa de Salud relies on partners, including Saint Louis University — Casa’s foundational partner — more than 40 volunteer medically licensed providers, 25 behavioral health partners, nearly 100 community organizations and area universities. These collaborations help immigrants integrate more easily into the regional health care system. To date, Casa has delivered more than 60,000 services across its clinical and mental health programs and serves more than 2,500 patients each year.

Access comes down to feeling heard, especially in health care – it can be so hard to articulate how you are feeling, even in your own language. Now think about that across language and cultural barriers. Someone who is heard, even if we can’t treat the condition at Casa, goes a long way to getting them where they need to be. This is the magic of Casa.

– Diego Abente, Casa President & CEO

Casa de Salud Facts:

In 2023, Casa provided over 8,100 services to 2,555 individuals, helped patients save more than $1 million by helping them apply for financial aid, and partnered with volunteers who provided 8,800 hours of service.
Casa de Salud focuses on the region's most recent immigrants – those trying to figure out a new community or country; those in need of additional support to feel like they belong.
Each month Casa provides 240+ primary care appointments, scheduled six days a week during the mornings, afternoons, and evenings.
Casa provides 300+ mental health sessions monthly, scheduled seven days a week during the mornings, afternoons, and evenings.
Last year, case managers coordinated more than 500 medical appointments and managed more than 850 cases.