Legacy

Alliance Healthcare Foundation developed from a necessity for a representative public voice and advocate to speak and act on behalf of the critical healthcare needs of San Diego’s underserved populations.

The organization was formed more than 20 years ago through an innovative partnership of healthcare, business, labor and consumer advocates. Leaders in varied fields came together to address the growing access to care issues facing San Diego’s underserved regions. Since then, Alliance Healthcare Foundation has grown to play a critical role in the greater San Diego community by supporting programs that improve access to care for the region’s underserved.

From the beginning, Alliance represented and was comprised of diverse individuals. United by a common commitment to improving the health and wellness of the entire San Diego community, AHF has historically assumed a leadership role, pioneering innovative projects that have had a great impact on the health of our region. To date, Alliance has made over 300 grants totaling more than $45 million to programs and services that improve the quality of life for our community. AHF has leveraged an additional $41 million from national and local funding partners with similar goals.

Timeline

Early 1980s: Representatives of major stakeholders in the healthcare marketplace founded the San Diego Community Healthcare Alliance to contain spiraling healthcare costs. Members included hospitals, physicians, healthcare systems, insurance companies, employers and labor unions.

1982: Community Care Network, Inc. (CCN), a nonprofit preferred provider network, was Alliance's first major project. CCN offered the services of selected providers at discounted rates to health plans, insurance carriers and other purchasers of health services.

1988: To promote healthcare access for underserved individuals in the San Diego region, the Community Healthcare Alliance board created Alliance Healthcare Foundation (AHF).

1994: CCN was sold to Value Health, Inc., a for-profit managed care system. As a result of the sale, Alliance Healthcare Foundation acquired an $83 million endowment. These funds have enabled AHF to provide much needed support to those organizations that work to improve access to healthcare for the medically underserved population of the Greater San Diego Region.