La Red Health Center was started by a network of physicians in Sussex County to meet the needs of the growing number of locally uninsured individuals. The name “La Red” means “Network” in Spanish. This “network” of local community physicians partnered with a local community hospital (Nanticoke Health Services), a local community center (La Esperanza), a local faith-based organization (Episcopal Diocese of Delaware), and local government (Division of Public Health), to meet the needs of the many individuals in Sussex County who face significant barriers to healthcare. The opening of La Red Health Center represented the culmination of multiple years of needs assessment and collaborative public and private planning in Sussex County, Delaware.

Initially under the auspices of La Esperanza, La Red Health Center operated as a 24 hour/7 days per week telephone hotline to facilitate access to medical care for individuals with no or limited English proficiency. Referrals were made to a network of primary and subspecialty care physicians who were bilingual and who treated patients at discounted rates. The operation was hugely successful as demonstrated by monthly call volume and by partnerships accrued during its operation.

In February 2001, the operation transformed to an independent, federally and privately supported ambulatory care center. Local funding and funding through the Office of Rural Health Policy’s Rural Health Outreach Grant program enabled this transition from a phone service to an ambulatory facility. The center secured professional provider services, referral agreements, and State contracts for services, to meet the life cycle medical needs of Sussex County residents. The demand for such affordable medical services has resulted in a doubling of patient visits for each of the first three years of the center’s operation.

In April 2003, La Red Health Center officially completed the transition as a “collaborative project” belonging to La Esperanza Community Center to a separately incorporated, non-profit organization governed by a user majority Board of Directors with an ambitious and exciting vision for the future. The Board is assisted by a Technical Advisory Committee comprised of community experts from Public Health, hospital administration, and the local business community.

In April 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) designated La Red Health Center as the only Federally Qualified Health Center in Sussex County, Delaware. In April 2005, the Health Resources & Services Administration designated La Red Health Center as a full fledged Federally Qualified Health Center under the President's REACH Initiative.

Today La Red Health Center is a respected and integral partner in the local health care delivery system and at the state level as a vital component in Delaware’s safety net program. The center maintains productive relationships with local service providers, hospitals and the private medical community. La Red Health Center enjoys strong bipartisan congressional, state, and local support. The center’s Board of Directors has an ambitious and exciting strategic vision to expand service delivery to a wider segment of the underserved population in Sussex County.