As a young girl, Dr. Elisa Nicholas dreamed of improving the world and thought the best way to do that was through medicine.

She had great role models in her parents.

Her father was one of the first doctors of Greek immigrants in Los Angeles County. Nicholas estimated that he delivered more than 10,000 babies in his lifetime. Her mother was a surgical nurse.

Nicholas’ dream came true in Long Beach, where, in 1988, she built a small medical center known as The Children’s Clinic into TCC Family Health, an extensive health system with 13 centers and a mobile medical clinic serving almost 40,000 patients annually, from babies to seniors. TCC, she said, is the primary safety-net provider and the largest independent health provider of services to underserved, diverse populations in the greater Long Beach area.

And this month, TCC expanded services by opening a new site, 1500 E. Anaheim St., in Long Beach’s Cambodia Town. This site will serve 9,000 individual patients through 28,800 medical, dental and behavioral health visits and 9,600 social service visits each year, Nicholas said.

“This area is home to the city’s vibrant Cambodian population, as well as large Latino and African American populations, which remain critically underserved,” Nicholas said. “Many residents have experienced historical trauma and health inequities. TCC’s trauma-informed and healing approach ensures care is not only high quality but also culturally sensitive, promoting healing and trust within the community.”

I went on a tour of the new health center last week with Nicholas.

It is a sparkling 18,000-square-foot center featuring both clinical and wellness components.

The health care side includes 15 medical exam rooms, three dental rooms, an acupuncture room, behavioral health offices, an X-ray room, a dispensary, care team workspaces, patient intake offices, a food pantry and a nursing station.

On the wellness side, there is a gleaming teaching kitchen, flexible meeting and conference rooms, a children’s area, a quiet room, partner agency offices, and a 4,000-square-foot courtyard with a meditation maze, living wall and container gardening.

TCC has also partnered with BRIDGE Housing to incorporate 88 affordable and supportive housing units in the multiple floors above the center, Nicholas said.

“I am really proud of this center,” Nicholas said. “TCC will provide care to all ages through comprehensive primary and preventive health care, including pediatrics, adult and senior care, women’s health care, prenatal care, dental care and behavioral health care.”

The wellness side, she said, will provide intergenerational and cross-cultural healthy cooking classes and health education classes to help control and prevent chronic disease, promote well-being and decrease social isolation. Classes will include sewing, art, handicrafts, storytelling, and creative writing and poetry. Nutrition classes will include shopping on a budget and healthy meals on a budget.

One of the youngest — and earliest — patients to be served at the new center was Robert Frutos Jr., a 1-month-old who was born at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital.

As young Robert let out some healthy cries, his beaming parents — Robert Frutos Sr. and Karla Frutos of Compton — said they loved the new center.

“He is almost 11 pounds already,” his mother said happily.

For the capital campaign to build the new center, Nicholas thanked the Miller Foundation; Ahmanson Foundation; Parsons Foundation; Munzer Foundation; Keck Foundation; Vasek and Anna Maria Polak Charitable Foundation; California through state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, on the recommendation of Long Beach Councilmember Suely Saro; a congressional appropriation through former Rep. Alan Lowenthal; and individual donors.

Nicholas’ path to Long Beach has been a somewhat adventurous one.

She was born in Lynwood and raised in Inglewood. While attending medical school at UCLA, she spent some time as a medical student in Haiti, where she met a doctor who became a role model for her in teaching her the art of medicine. After med school, she completed a residency in pediatrics at Yale University School of Medicine and earned a master’s degree in public health at UCLA.

Nicholas then did health work in Kenya and Uganda and returned to Haiti for a second time.

As much as she loved her work internationally, she ultimately returned to Long Beach to be closer to her family.

“My mother said I could help people in the United States, as well as the rest of the world and be closer to home,” she said.

Serving a community’s health needs is a difficult challenge, Nicholas said.

“It’s like peeling an onion,” she said. “There are racial inequities (that) affect generations of people. We look at all of these factors in addressing the health needs of our patients.”

TCC takes a holistic approach to health wellness, looking at everything from lifestyle to mental health to environmental issues like air pollution, she said.

Nicholas has been a passionate advocate in addressing air quality issues with city, county and state policymakers.

She helped create the Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, a community coalition aiming to improve the lives of children with asthma.

“My approach with public officials is to present the facts on what is causing these health issues so changes can be made,” she said.

Has progress been made? Yes, but not enough.

“We have a long way to go in helping vulnerable people,” Nicholas said. “I want to continue to raise awareness of people to these health problems.”