Doctors and nurses at the RotaCare free clinic at El Camino Hospital will now be able to help uninsured patients manage their chronic illnesses with the help of an $85,000 grant the clinic received earlier this week.

Palo Alto Medical Foundation, a Sutter Health affiliate, presented the grant to clinic officials during a small ceremony this week. Barbara Avery, the hospital's manager of community development, said the additional funding will go toward teaching 120 patients with chronic diseases -- such as high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma -- how to maintain healthy lifestyles.

"We can get patients stabilized," Avery said. "We can get patients the medications they need."

Approximately 70 percent of patients who come to RotaCare have at least one chronic illness, according to Avery. The grant will target patients with multiple diseases, and during a year-long program the clinic's nurse practitioner will give the patients tips on how to reduce stress and eat nutritiously.

"We will take the people who are sickest," she said.

This is the first time the hospital and the Sutter Health affiliate have paired up to help the clinic. Palo Alto Medical Foundation spokesperson Cynthia Greaves said it's an important gift "given how much need there is even in our relatively wealthy community."

The grant will also fund a pilot screening program that will allow doctors and nurses to catch these chronic illnesses early.

"If we can catch it early, patients won't become as sick," Avery said.

Sutter Health is awarding $2.5 million in grants to medical and dental clinics throughout Northern California that work with low-income patients.

The RotaCare clinic is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 9 p.m. and located across from El Camino Hospital at 2400 Grant Road in Mountain View. Call (650) 988-8200 or visit www.rotacarebayarea.org for more information.