Community clinics and income-based health centers in Santa Cruz County, California
Santa Cruz County's clinic map splits into two halves. Santa Cruz Community Health covers the north county from downtown Santa Cruz, Live Oak, and Ben Lomond, while Salud Para La Gente anchors Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley, and Dientes provides low cost dental care across both. These health centers are required to accept patients regardless of insurance status, with fees for the uninsured set on sliding scales. The county government also runs its own clinics and a dedicated health program for people without housing.
This page covers the whole county — Santa Cruz, Live Oak, Capitola, Aptos, Ben Lomond and the San Lorenzo Valley, and Watsonville. The directory covers sliding fee medical clinics, a free evening clinic, dental programs, homeless health services, women's and family health, and crisis lines. Services and eligibility change, so confirm details with each organization before going.
- PREPARE: Before a first visit, call and ask what to bring; sliding fee programs generally want a photo ID and recent proof of income, and some ask for proof of county residency - though some of the health centers in Santa Cruz County also help immigrants.
Sliding fee health centers across the county
Santa Cruz Community Health. This nonprofit health center system schedules appointments for all of its clinics at (831) 427-3500, with locations listed at https://www.schealthcenters.org/. Its clinics are in downtown Santa Cruz at the Women's Health Center, in Live Oak on Capitola Road, and in Ben Lomond, which serves the San Lorenzo Valley.
Care includes primary care for adults and children, pediatrics, prenatal care, behavioral health, and gender-affirming care, in English and Spanish. Patients are seen regardless of ability to pay, with a sliding fee scale for the uninsured. Evening appointments are generally available on most weekdays and some Saturday hours are offered, but confirm current hours when scheduling.
Salud Para La Gente. Salud is the main health center for Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley, with its principal clinic on East Beach Street and additional sites around Watsonville and Freedom. Appointments for all locations are made at (831) 728-0222, and current sites and hours are posted at https://splg.org.
Services cover family medicine, pediatrics, pregnancy and perinatal care, dental care, behavioral health, and vision care, with bilingual staff and a long focus on farmworker families. Salud also runs school-based health centers that treat students and their siblings, along with mobile and pop-up clinics around the area. Medi-Cal and Medicare are accepted, and uninsured patients pay on a sliding fee scale.
County of Santa Cruz Health Centers. The county government operates its own primary care clinics: the Santa Cruz Health Center on Emeline Avenue, reachable at (831) 454-4100, and the Watsonville Health Center on Freedom Boulevard, reachable at (831) 763-8400. Details are at https://santacruzhealth.org/.
The county clinics provide primary care, pediatrics, integrated behavioral health, and gender-affirming care. Everyone is accepted regardless of insurance status, with income-based fees for the uninsured.
Free evening medical care
RotaCare Santa Cruz. RotaCare runs a free clinic in Santa Cruz staffed by volunteer doctors and nurses, generally open one evening a week. Current clinic night, location, and contact details are posted at https://www.rotacarebayarea.org/, or call (831) 204-6040.
The clinic provides free basic medical care for uninsured people who cannot afford treatment elsewhere, including care for minor illnesses and injuries, prescriptions, and referrals to other providers. Both appointments and walk-ins are generally taken, but because hours are limited, call or check the website before going.
Dental care on a sliding scale
Dientes Community Dental. Dientes is the county's dedicated nonprofit dental provider, with clinics in Santa Cruz, Live Oak, and Watsonville. The mid-county clinic on Commercial Way can be reached at (831) 464-5409, and phone numbers for every location are listed at https://dientes.org/.
Services run from exams, cleanings, and fillings to crowns, extractions, and emergency dental care, with pediatric dentists on staff and bilingual service throughout. Dientes accepts Medi-Cal, including Medi-Cal dental coverage, and offers affordable rates for the uninsured. Availability for new adult patients varies, so call to ask about current openings; new pediatric patients are generally being accepted.
Cabrillo College Dental Hygiene Clinic. The dental hygiene program at Cabrillo College in Aptos runs a low cost teaching clinic, reachable at (831) 479-6431 with patient information at https://www.cabrillo.edu/. Supervised students provide cleanings, X-rays, sealants, fluoride treatments, and oral cancer screenings at low prices.
The clinic generally operates during the fall and spring semesters, does not process insurance, and accepts patients whose dental needs fit its teaching criteria. It offers preventive care only, so it supplements rather than replaces a regular dentist. Salud Para La Gente also provides dental care in Watsonville.
Health care for people without housing
Homeless Persons' Health Project. This county-run program provides medical and mental health care to people experiencing homelessness anywhere in Santa Cruz County. It is based on Coral Street in Santa Cruz and also sees patients at the Watsonville Health Center on Freedom Boulevard; call (831) 454-2080 or see the program page at https://santacruzhealth.org/.
Care is free or pay-what-you-can, and no insurance is needed. Beyond clinic visits, the program runs street medicine outreach and pop-up clinics where people live outdoors, offers mobile showers, helps with Medi-Cal and benefits applications, and provides case management, along with a recuperative care partnership for people leaving the hospital.
Women's and family health
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte – Watsonville Health Center. Planned Parenthood's clinic on South Green Valley Road in Watsonville is now the organization's location in Santa Cruz County. Appointments can be booked at (831) 724-7525 or through the health center page at https://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-center/california/watsonville/95076/watsonville-health-center-2229-90130, and Mar Monte's clinics in Salinas and San Jose are also open to county residents.
Services include birth control, STI testing and treatment, pregnancy testing, and wellness exams. Medi-Cal is accepted and uninsured patients can ask about sliding fee options when booking. Women can also ask any of the health centers above about prenatal care, and about free cancer screenings such as mammograms and cervical cancer tests.
Mental health and crisis help
Anyone in Santa Cruz County in a mental health crisis can call the county's line at (800) 952-2335, answered around the clock in English and Spanish, or dial 988. The county line can dispatch a mobile crisis team of mental health professionals rather than police, and it doubles as the Access Team number for starting ongoing county mental health or substance use treatment. Walk-in crisis services are generally available on weekday business hours at the county behavioral health offices on Emeline Avenue in Santa Cruz and Freedom Boulevard in Watsonville.
Medi-Cal and final tips
Most of the clinics on this page help patients apply for Medi-Cal on site, and locally the program is administered through the Central California Alliance for Health, reachable at (800) 700-3874. Details on Medi-Cal, Covered California, and other options are on the California health care for the uninsured page.
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