About Our Founder
Our founder had always believed in building things that helped people move forward—literally. For over two decade, he owned a prosthetics and orthotics company that had several locations across California, that crafted high-quality limbs for people who had lost theirs, often due to complications from unmanaged diabetes.
He had heard the stories before. A small wound on the foot. A delay in getting care. And then: infection, hospitalization, and finally, the surgery no one wanted to talk about. Amputation.
But one day, while fitting a patient for a below-the-knee prosthetic, something shifted.. His patient had been managing his diabetes alone. He didn’t have a primary care doctor, didn’t know about the free nutrition classes in his community, and hadn’t been able to get his insulin for months.
A Moment That Changed Everything
He had heard the stories before. A small wound on the foot. A delay in getting care. And then: infection, hospitalization, and finally, the surgery no one wanted to talk about. Amputation.
But one day, while fitting a patient for a below-the-knee prosthetic, something shifted.. His patient had been managing his diabetes alone. He didn’t have a primary care doctor, didn’t know about the free nutrition classes in his community, and hadn’t been able to get his insulin for months.
“I didn’t lose my leg,” his patient told him, “I lost the system before it even showed up for me.”
What If the System Showed Up First?
So he started asking bigger questions:
- Why weren’t people getting support earlier?
- Who was responsible for connecting the dots between housing, food, doctor visits, and medication?
- And how could he be part of that solution?
That’s when he discovered Enhanced Care Management (ECM)—a new way of supporting Medi-Cal members in California by offering whole-person, team-based care. Not just medical help, but support with things like housing, mental health, addiction recovery, and making sure people actually use their healthcare in time.
It clicked
“This is what’s been missing,” he thought. “We wait until people lose a limb, and then we build them a new one. What if we built a system that helped them keep their limbs—and their dignity—in the first place?”
And with that, Heritage Health Network was born – an ECM provider focused on serving low-income individuals with diabetes, mental health needs, and those experiencing homelessness. His team included community health workers, nurses, and peer advocates—many who had lived through the very experiences they now helped others navigate.
Now Heritage Health Networks goes into the communities not with a product to sell, but with a hand to offer. The mission was simple: Prevent what never should have happened in the first place.
Because to him, Enhanced Care Management wasn’t just a service.
It was a promise:
We see you. We’ll walk with you. And we’re not waiting until it’s too late.