The Coachella Valley now has a website for health and wellness resources offering everything from hiking trails to adaptive sports; education to legal services; and weight management to food assistance.

Created by the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation (DHCD) in partnership with the City of Palm Springs, CV HIP (Coachella Valley Health Information Place) brings over 1,000 free and low-cost health programs and providers together in one place. Accessible in multiple languages, the site enables anyone to access information on health screenings, diabetes, food and nutrition, senior services, sexual health, counseling, pediatric health care, local sports and recreation, food assistance, financial and legal aid, and more.

Herb K. Schultz, DHCD CEO, says the program is the first of its kind locally. “We held extensive conversations with area social workers and case managers to understand the challenges they experienced while connecting people with the services they needed. These conversations revealed a common issue: it was a challenge to efficiently match people with the community organizations that could help them.”

Keeping the site current is imperative and will be a shared responsibility between service providers who can make updates directly and the DHCD. Non-profits, providers and others offering free or low cost services can also request to be added via the site.

Proceeds of the Mayor’s Healthy Planet, Healthy You 10-mile and 5K Race and Wellness Festival funded the program, and Palm Springs Mayor pro tem J.R. Roberts has been a champion from the start. “CV HIP is for the mother dealing with food insecurity, not knowing where to go for urgently needed food for her family, and for the person who is homeless and struggling with the summer heat…It’s for first responders, 911 operators, and social workers – everyone – to help find free and low-cost health care and services for those that are distressed.”

Congressman Raul Ruiz, MD, said of the project, “One of the key access barriers found in my 2010 Coachella Valley Health Care Initiative was that many residents simply didn’t know what local services were available to them. This tool will help solve the problem.”

For more information visit CVHIP.com or call (760) 323-6113.