Los Angeles Times Profiles Laguna Beach Clinic, Examines Impact of Proposed State Budget Reductions
The Los Angeles Times on Sunday profiled the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, which treats thousands of low-income and uninsured patients and may have to reduce services because of proposed local and state budget reductions. Gov. Gray Davis (D) has proposed budget reductions that could force the Laguna Beach clinic and other community clinics to reduce their hours, cancel programs and treat fewer patients, Erica Waidley, executive director of the Laguna Beach clinic, said. Grants and donations cover some of the cost of operation at the 32-year-old clinic, but state and county funds account for about 38% of the clinic's budget. The clinic treats a large number of immigrants and their children, seniors, HIV-positive men and women and self-employed and part-time employees who lack health insurance. The clinic provides a number of nonemergency services, such as root canal surgery and prescriptions for antibiotics (Allison, Los Angeles Times, 2/2).
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