Established in 1999, the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) is committed to advancing community health for California’s low-income and uninsured populations.  Our work builds on the belief that California’s public hospitals and health systems are uniquely well-qualified and dedicated to addressing the health needs of vulnerable individuals and at-risk communities, within the context of California’s rich racial and ethnic diversity. 

SNI serves the 19 public hospital systems who are members of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH). Consisting of county hospitals, academic medical centers, and their affiliated public clinics, these systems form the core of the state’s public health care safety net, providing cost-effective, high quality and culturally appropriate health care services for low-income and uninsured populations. These comprehensive health care systems also ensure the availability of services that are critical for every person in California, from public health and emergency medical services to highly specialized trauma and burn care. These services are essential to the health and well-being of the public at large.

While these institutions perform critical work for vulnerable populations, they do so with extremely limited resources, and operate under razor-thin margins. SNI enables public hospitals to improve patient care and efficiency by facilitating grant-funded team projects and connecting our member health care systems with other critical partners and resources. SNI demonstrates and evaluates innovative strategies, shares best practices, and promotes a broader understanding of the role public hospitals and health systems play in promoting community health.

SNI is the research and educational affiliate of the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems.