Local clinic offers healthcare to underinsured
Health insurance is hard to come by for many in the United
States. Studies have shown one out of eight people in the United
States is without medical insurance and within San Benito County
some have speculated those numbers may be even greater.
Local clinic offers healthcare to underinsured
Health insurance is hard to come by for many in the United States. Studies have shown one out of eight people in the United States is without medical insurance and within San Benito County some have speculated those numbers may be even greater.
Conservative estimates put the number of Americans that lack access to a primary care physician somewhere around 35 million, according to a report put out by the National Association of Community Health Centers.
Reports say the average wait time to see a doctor at the emergency room can be as long as 50 minutes nationally and are closer to three hours at California clinics. The wait at clinics such as the San Benito Health Foundation can often be half that.
The SB Health Foundation is a health center that delivers primary care to individuals who rely on health care centers as their only source of care. It provides accessible, affordable health care to one in eight uninsured persons, one in nine Medicaid beneficiaries and one in four low-income individuals. It provides continuous primary and preventative care that reduces the risk of new health care problems and lowers overall potential cost of care. Because the health foundation allows patients to make appointments in advance, they often face shorter wait times. Otherwise, the clinic accepts walk-in patients and treats them according to their severity.
Alberto Ruiz brought his son, Hector, to the clinic last week for a checkup. The boy was having chest pains and Ruiz wanted to make sure it wasn’t anything serious. Ruiz said it is fortunate the clinic is here, because he is not able to afford health insurance.
“I don’t know what I’d do without it,” Ruiz said. “I had to go to the ER before and it cost me, like, $3,000. I’m still paying that off.”
People such as Ruiz are able to benefit from the San Benito Health Foundation regardless of their ability to pay, according to Fernandez.
The purpose of clinics such as the SB Health Foundation is to make sure everyone has access to proper healthcare, regardless of their ability to pay, according to Rosa Vivian Fernandez, executive director of the San Benito Health Foundation.
The foundation is a health care clinic located in the western part of Hollister, on the edge of Villa Hermosa. They offer comprehensive services including medical, dental and preventative health education to more than 16,000 patients annually. Additionally the WIC (Women, Infants and Children) program staff, which is a supplemental nutrition program, sees around 2,250 people per month.
The health foundation offers medical and dental family practice; preventative medicine; internal medicine; obstetrics and gynecology; family planning; pediatrics; immunization and health screening services; nutrition counseling; and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling.
“One of the things we’re very excited about,” Fernandez said, “Is the fact that we provide medical services that these people wouldn’t have access to otherwise. For example, we’re very excited about the fact that [our facility] has one of the two Medi-cal dentists in town. We also recently started an OB-GYN service. We have one of the two female OB-GYN’s in town.”
The facility, which from the outside looks like something Barbie might live in – with it’s broad brush stroke of pastel colors and bright orange tile roof – is actually very well furnished inside. It features 18 exam rooms and a treatment room as well as four dental chairs and the WIC clinic, in addition to the conference room and business offices it houses. The facility was built in 1993, so it is in need of some updating, according to Fernandez.
“The building needs some refurbishing and the dental equipment is getting a bit outdated as well,” Fernandez said. “One of the things we’d like to see is the addition of three more full-time dentists to serve this population as well. We are also recruiting three additional medical providers.”
This year the SB Health Foundation received federal funding, which will bring in much needed grant money for health care in San Benito County that was not here before, Fernandez said. The extra revenue will allow the clinic to extend its hours and even possibly offer office hours on Saturdays as well as evenings.
The bulk of funding comes from direct patient billing and insurance but there is also additional funds from the federal government and the money the clinic receives from the occasional grant from DMB, Fishes and Loaves and the San Benito County Community Foundation.
One of the groups that benefits from the SB Health Foundation are seniors. Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia is an advocate for seniors and works at the Hollister Senior Center. She said many of their clients receive services from the health foundation and it is nice because they are one of the few providers that accept Medi-cal.
“It’s really important that the clinic is here,” Valdivia said. “A lot of seniors are clients because they are Medi-cal or Medi-care patients. [The senior center] does referrals and transports clients there when necessary. It’s a vital service to the community.”
Many of the residents in Councilwoman Eugenia Sanchez’s district take advantage of the services offered at the SB Health Foundation and Sanchez is no exception.
“I’m a former recipient of the health foundation’s services,” Sanchez said. “So I think it’s a great service for people who can’t afford to pay [for health care]. They offer dental, too. It’s a really good service provider.”
By The Numbers
4.5 million dollars is the annual budget of the health foundation
30 total number of staff
16,000 people served annually
30,000 visits per year
15 minutes average waiting time for someone with an appointment. It can take several hours for a walk-in, non-emergency check-up.
