Operation Access connects people facing barriers to care with surgical and specialty services donated by local providers to advance health equity.
In Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado counties, Operation Access (OA) coordinates medically necessary outpatient specialty and surgical care for uninsured residents through partnerships with volunteer physicians and facilities serving the Greater Sacramento region. Patients receive care free of charge after referral from community health centers and free clinics.
For more than 10 years, Operation Access has served residents of the four-county Sacramento region. Over the past decade, OA has coordinated 238 services for 152 unduplicated patients from these counties. Activity has grown rapidly in recent years: in 2024 OA coordinated 35 services for 22 patients, and in 2025 this increased to 70 services for 52 patients; a 100% increase in services and a 136% increase in patients year over year. In the past two years alone, OA has received 160 referrals for residents of Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado counties, reflecting growing regional need and awareness among providers.
In 2025, Operation Access coordinated more than $660,000 in donated specialty and surgical care for residents of these counties. Services are delivered through OA’s volunteer specialty care model, which leverages approximately $76,000 in annual regional program costs to generate nearly $660,000 in donated care each year, more than a 9:1 return for every dollar donated to our program.
OA serves people facing structural barriers to specialty care access, including uninsured adults who are ineligible for public coverage and cannot afford specialty treatment. Without access to procedures such as hernia repair, cataract removal, or colonoscopy, treatable conditions can progress to disability, preventable vision loss, cancer, or emergency hospitalization. By coordinating timely outpatient specialty treatment, Operation Access prevents avoidable health deterioration and costly emergency care in the community.
OA coordinates a wide range of medically necessary outpatient procedures, including hernia repair, cataract and pterygium removal, colonoscopy and polyp removal, gynecologic procedures, ENT surgery, and other specialty interventions. Patients must reside in the region, be income-eligible, lack insurance coverage, and be referred by a community health provider.
Operation Access receives referrals from community clinics across the four-county region, including CommuniCare+OLE, Winters Healthcare Foundation, Community Medical Centers, El Dorado Community Health Center, Healing Grove Health Center, Planned Parenthood Northern California, RotaCare Bay Area, WellSpace Health (Rancho Cordova), Western Sierra Medical Clinic.
Through its bilingual patient navigation team and network of volunteer physicians and surgical facilities serving the Sacramento region, Operation Access expands access to life-changing specialty care for uninsured residents across Yolo, Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado counties