For more than 30 years, thousands of residents of the entire San Fernando Valley have looked to the Valley Community Clinic as their ‘family doctor.’ The Clinic is a private, non-profit organization whose services are provided at little or no cost to individuals who can’t afford alternative care the uninsured, unemployed, students, struggling artists, and low-income families who have fallen between the cracks of the health care delivery system. Bit by bit, inch by inch, the Valley Community Clinic building has been restructured, reorganized, and remodeled to make the best possible use of the available, but limited, space. Each year, it gets a little bit more difficult to squeeze in all the patients who need services. Last year, the Clinic provided over 47,000 patient visits at its North Hollywood site (compared with 21,550 visits in 1996). In the fall of 1999, for the very first time in its 30-year history, the Clinic stopped accepting new primary care patients. “We have a highly trained staff; we have supplies; we are open evenings and Saturday, but we just don’t have the examining rooms or the waiting room space,” Ann Britt, President & CEO, lamented. “Just last month, the Clinic remodeled again, turning three counseling rooms into medical exam rooms. This lessened the immediate squeeze on the medical programs, but at the expense of another desperately needed program, mental health counseling. These are tough choices.” The Clinic has been developing a 5-year, long-range plan to address the critical space problems and community needs and is looking to double its current size. They are now considering several possible sites for this expansion. One consideration includes a possible new facility as part of the 1.8 million square foot NoHo redevelopment project headed up by developer J. Allen Radford. Located between Magnolia and Chandler, right off Lankershim Blvd., they are also looking at another possible site in Sun Valley with local developer, Arthur Sweet. “Our Board of Directors and staff are very committed to making expanded access a priority,” says Britt. “Then I always remind them that the real work lays ahead…fund raising to make all this happen!” Information for this article was provided by the Valley Community Clinic.
