About CCAC
Improving the lives of
San Joaquin Valley residents,
one breath at a time.
Our Mission
CCAC’s mission is to provide education and direct services, build regional capacity and advocate for sensible policies that improve health and address inequities by reducing environmental impacts and emphasizing the prevention and management of chronic disease.
Our Vision
We see a San Joaquin Valley where the health of every resident is our foremost concern. We envision environments and systems of support for health reflected in the resources, information, activities and policies in every community.
Our Story
In 2011, the Fresno/Madera Asthma Coalition (FMAC) received a grant from the Wesley Foundation to develop and implement an asthma education program for children in low-income communities. As a result, the FMAC decided to incorporate as a 501.c(3) and was renamed the Central California Asthma Collaborative (CCAC). The newly formed non-profit’s mission was to increase capacity for asthma-related education and advocacy in Fresno and Madera counties, as well as organizing and supporting other county asthma coalitions across the San Joaquin Valley
In 2013, the California Endowment funded CCAC to explore the potential of utilizing social impact bonds to support community-based asthma management programs. CCAC partnered with local managed care health plans and safety net providers to implement a home-based, multi-component asthma intervention (renamed the Asthma Impact Model or AIM). Through this project, CCAC was able to demonstrate the efficacy of the AIM program in reducing asthma symptoms, decreasing emergency care utilization and improving quality of life for low-income children with asthma.
With funding from private foundations and public grants (e.g. California Air Resources Board Supplemental Environmental Projects), the AIM program was able to expand in-home asthma services to low-income families in Kern, Kings, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties.
In 2020, CCAC received funding from the Department of Health Care Services (administered by the Sierra Health Foundation) to significantly expand the size and scope of CCAC’s asthma program. Enhanced in-home asthma remediation and education services were implemented broadly in Fresno and Kern counties in partnership with Health Net and Kern Health Systems, respectively.
In 2022, the AIM program was renamed the Comprehensive Asthma Remediation and Education Services (CARES) program. CCAC entered into contracts with Health Net, Anthem, Kern Health Systems and Kaiser Permanente to provide the CARES program to Medi-Cal patients in seven counties of the San Joaquin Valley. Click here to learn more about CCAC CARES.