CLINICS: Anza Clinic Reopens to Patients’ Relief
Anza residents no longer have to drive 35 miles or more down two-lane rural roads to reach a doctor, as they have done since the Eisenhower Health Center closed on July 1. The Anza Family Physicians health clinic was reopened last month by the group that runs the Hemet Family Physicians Clinic. Clinic doctor James Lyster said, "I hope that we can maintain a medical service here for the residents of the community, especially the elderly and for our welfare patients because those patients have no means to get off the hill for medical services." Clinic doctors have only been treating Medi-Cal patients and emergencies cases, but have been working to convince HMOs to cover patients' visits. While a minimum of 30 patients a day is needed to keep the clinic in the black, currently, an average of only 10 patients visit the clinic each day. At its peak, the clinic served 30 patients daily and about 6,000 annually. Aruna Reddy, Hemet Family Physicians office manager, said that "better management and collections procedures" will help the Anza clinic succeed and increased advertising "should boost the number of patients visiting the clinic" (Marriott, Riverside Press-Enterprise, 10/15).
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