Thursday, Feb 12, 2026 | 5 pm – 7 pm PT
Veterans Hall, Santa Maria
313 W Tunnell St, Santa Maria, CA 93458
Event Overview
Community members and media are invited to an in-person forum in Santa Maria focused on health care access for Santa Barbara County immigrant families and farmworkers.
Amid heightened immigration enforcement concerns, this forum held by ACoM and the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will bring together state and county health leaders, local clinics and community advocates to share information, answer questions and connect families with resources to access health care for immigrant communities.
Topics addressed will include how to access Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid; who qualifies; what services are covered, regardless of immigration status; new changes to enrollment and re-enrollment; how state and local governments are protecting enrollees’ data and immigration status privacy; farmworkers’ health care needs and risks; and how local clinics and community organizations are working together to deliver care amid federal health cuts.
This free, family-friendly event will include a live Q&A with panelists, resource tables with local health and social service providers, simultaneous interpretation in Spanish and Mixteco, media interviews following the panel and dinner catering.
Registration is required. Location details will be shared after registration.
Guest Speakers
- Yingjia Huang, Deputy Director, DHCS
- Griselda Melgoza, spokesperson, DHCS
- Dario Predazzi, Division Chief, Department of Social Services, Santa Barbara County
- Michaela Killer-Westall, Health Care Administrator, Santa Barbara County Public Health Clinics
- Jordan Turetsky, MPH, Director of Strategic Engagement, CenCal Health
- Elia Rodriguez, Associate Director of Member Services, CenCal Health
- Francisco Lozano, President of Mixtec Parents’ Advisory Committee, Santa Maria-Bonita School District and Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
