Christine Todd’s life — and healthcare — story is quintessentially Richmond.
She grew up here and developed asthma and chronic sinus infections at a young age. She moved away at 18 and returned in her 30s, joining her father and aunt in working at the Chevron refinery.
As a longtime patient of LifeLong Medical Care, Todd, 50, appreciates how her doctors have managed her chronic conditions, one of which, asthma, could be linked to air quality issues in Richmond.
Her refinery job salary was good, but it impacted her health, Todd told Richmondside. She remembers one particular explosion at the refinery caused her asthma to flare, and she had to immediately seek care at a local hospital.
Throughout her asthma flares, Todd said her LifeLong doctors have been there for her and really cared about her health.
Kimberly Ceci, one of LifeLong’s three chief medical officers, said that Todd’s story is common.
“Even when a patient journey takes them away from LifeLong, we are here, when and if they return,” Ceci said.
Four years ago, Todd transferred her care to the William Jenkins Health Center, the LifeLong clinic that opened in Richmond in 2020. “I really connected with the Richmond [clinic] because of everybody there,” she said. She said that the variety of services offered, including mental health care, health classes and a variety of doctors, have made it her “one stop shop.”
LifeLong emerged from Berkeley social justice effort to help seniors
As it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, LifeLong Medical Care told Richmondside it aims to stay true to its original mission of caring for underserved people in the East Bay. Despite many negative financial headwinds, LifeLong continues to provide a variety of services, train doctors and stay profitable.
Since it was founded, it has grown to include 13 health centers, three urgent care locations and four dental clinics across Alameda and Contra Costa counties. In 2024, 53,082 patients were served.
LifeLong’s origins date back to 1976. The Gray Panthers, a group of social activists, started a health clinic focused on seniors. The aptly named Over 60 Health Center merged with Berkeley Primary Care Access Clinic and West Berkeley Health Center in 1996 to form LifeLong Medical Care.
William Jenkins Jr., who the Richmond health center on 150 Harbour Way is named after, was the first African American pediatrician to have a clinic in Richmond.
“He came west as part of the Great Migration to serve Black and Brown communities who are not being served in an equitable fashion,” said his son John Jenkins, who is now LifeLong’s CEO.
“He and his peer group did what we call community health today. Then, they just called it medicine,” chuckled Jenkins. He described his dad working seven days a week, seeing 80 to 120 patients a day, because “ he only had one thing he cared about. It was providing care to patients. Nothing else mattered.”
His father’s clinic wasn’t fancy, Jenkins emphasized. “He didn’t have a beautiful office.” But it was centrally located “in the flats,” across from Kennedy High School. This location was particularly convenient for local families that relied on public transportation. “If he shut his doors, it was unclear where those kids were gonna get care,” Jenkins said.
“He only had one thing he cared about. It was providing care to patients. Nothing else mattered.”
— LifeLong CEO John Jenkins, on his father Dr. William Jenkins Jr.’s mission
“They could go up to Hilltop. That’s hard. They go to San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. That’s hard, particularly if you have working parents who don’t have access to easy transportation,” he said.
Jenkins said his father transferred his 5,000 patients to LifeLong in 2012 before his passing. His father chose LifeLong, he said, because “the mandate was the same, providing high quality care to underserved communities.”
Quality of care can be calculated using measures called HEDIS (Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set). These standardized metrics are used to evaluate the quality of healthcare and to allow comparison between health plans. HEDIS measures include childhood vaccination rates, blood pressure control in diabetics and asthma control.
LifeLong reports that 68% of patients with diabetes had adequately controlled their condition in 2024. This is achieved by patients regularly visiting their doctors and enrolling in group health classes.
One such class is called the H-EAT (Healthy EATing) class, and Todd attends it regularly. Most Wednesdays between 10 a.m. and noon, Todd can be found in the class, exercising, learning to read nutrition labels, and receiving locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Initially, “I was very hesitant about groups ’cause it just seems you don’t get that one-on-one,” said Todd. “But it’s not like that here. Everybody learns from each other and we all talk.”
Todd says the H-EAT class is effective. “I reduced weight and reduced medications.” She says she’s now off insulin, and her blood pressure has improved, and she credits the class with these improvements.
Todd also likes that new doctors are completing their training at the Richmond clinic.
After doctors finish four years of medical school, they complete a hands-on apprenticeship called residency. Residencies can last anywhere from three to seven years, depending on the speciality. In 2020, LifeLong started a family medicine residency program. Every year, the program accepts six new doctors to train for three years in comprehensive primary care.
Magdalen Edmunds, the director of the residency program, said that of the 17 graduates of the program, five became LifeLong doctors.
LifeLong’s residency program provides pipeline of doctors more likely to practice locally
Edmunds highlights an important point: Doctors typically accept jobs near where they train. A new study published in the journal Health Affairs analyzed more than 20,000 family medicine residents from 560 programs over a decade. Researchers found that half of family medicine doctors practice within 100 miles of where they were residents. A quarter practice in a five-mile radius of where they trained.
This was true for William Jenkins Jr., who was likely the first African American resident at Children’s Hospital in Oakland. He worked for the next 50 years in Oakland and Richmond.
Thus, LifeLong’s residency program provides a new crop of doctors that can be recruited to work in the East Bay permanently.
Ceci, Jenkins, and Edmunds speak about the residency program with immense pride.
“Our investment in the training and the partnership that we have … in this program at any given time is one of our proudest accomplishments and a legacy that will take us into our next generations of our community physicians,” Ceci said.
Running the residency program is not without its challenges. Edmunds said it takes a village of administrative staff, proctoring doctors, and extensive partnerships to run the program. They rely on external partners, such as Kaiser and Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in Martinez, to provide residents with experiences not available at LifeLong, such as surgery and neonatal care.
Currently, Edmunds is exploring options for where her residents can train in delivering babies.
“We are seeking a labor and delivery partner currently for our (obstetrics) rotation,” said Edmunds, “And that’s probably my primary challenge right now.”
Financial challenges loom for LifeLong
The challenges don’t end there. In recent years, it has weathered a difficult financial landscape. During the pandemic, LifeLong adapted to local shutdown and regulatory ordinances. The 501(c)3 nonprofit reported a $2.2 million loss in 2020. In 2025, the ACA enhanced premium tax credits expired, forcing some clients to drop their health insurance due to rising premiums.
Moving forward, changes to Medi-Cal eligibility due to Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will cause many more to lose their health insurance. Jenkins estimates that 20% of LifeLong patients may lose their insurance due to these changes. As patients lose their health insurance, LifeLong expects less reimbursement.
“Patients are, every day, worried about their coverage.”
— Kimberly Ceci, one of LifeLong’s chief medical officers
“Patients are, every day, worried about their coverage. We serve a patient population of approximately 85% covered by Medi-Cal, and we see there is fear through patient stories,” said Ceci.
As LifeLong seeks to allay patient concerns, they are also looking to keep the peace with employee unions in upcoming labor negotiations. During the last contract negotiations in 2023, doctors went on strike to protest working conditions.
“We look forward to putting together a great agreement that keeps our patients in mind first,” said Jenkins, about the talks.
Amongst these hurdles, Ceci is focused on caring for patients and making sure the rest of her organization can do the same. “Building trust with patients in our community toward improving their health status is the most important thing in our job,” said Ceci.
Todd, for one, has that trust with the doctors, staff, and other patients at LifeLong. “ It’s friendly, it’s positive, it’s happy. The staff is great,” said Todd.
There are no hoops to jump through to get care, Todd said, and she feels supported in her health goals.
“ It’s really motivating,” said Todd. “Now I set goals for myself and I choose to eat better, and I read labels and I’ve taken what I have learned, and I use it just about every day.”
Disclosure: Richmondside and its sister nonprofit news outlets, Berkeleyside and The Oaklandside, were media sponsors of LifeLong Medical’s 50th-anniversary gala on April 14.
