About El Rio

Since 1970, the El Rio Community Health Center has been working to provide quality, accessible health care. Today, more than 75,000 people in the Tucson community rely on the non-profit health center as their primary source of medical and dental care.

The El Rio staffs serve over 1,000 people per day, 70% of those served live at or below the federal poverty level. Dedicated to serving all populations including the underrepresented and uninsured, El Rio has become one of the largest non-profit, community health centers in the United States.

El Rio's History
In the late 1960's, neighborhood activists and the University of Arizona worked together to bring accessible and affordable health care to Tucsonans, who were being overlooked by traditional health care systems. Funded by a national "War on Poverty" initiative, a new concept was born, "Neighborhood Health Centers." Hear the story from the people who were there, click to watch a video on El Rio's history.