SAN FERNANDO VALLEY: Outpatient Clinic to Focus on Uninsured
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has decided to build an outpatient clinic in the San Fernando Valley that is expected to serve about 30,000 patients a year -- many of them uninsured. The clinic, which will most likely be located between Sun Valley and Reseda, will relieve pressure on the valley's other "overworked facilities," including its only comprehensive clinic, in Van Nuys. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, noting that more than 250,000 residents of the valley are uninsured, including 100,000 children, said, "Health care is my No. 1 priority as a supervisor, and the Valley has been shortchanged over the years. The demographic changes in the Valley have been dramatic, the number of people that are dependent on us for health care has increased, but the county's response has not." The clinic will be financed with $6.8 million from the county's $174 million in surplus funds (Los Angeles Times, 9/21).
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