HEALTH CLINIC'S GROWING PAINS CASELOADS RISE AS CENTER TRIES TO KEEP PACE WITH NEEDS OF VALLEY'S UNINSURED.

Byline: Connie Llanos 

Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- It's only 8:15 a.m., and Dr. Michael Gale has already treated his second patient -- a 9-month-old who needs an antibiotic for a throat infection.

And he'll see about two dozen more patients by the time his workday is over.

Despite the Santa Clarita Valley's reputation as a well-to-do suburb, Gale has seen his caseload soar at the Samuel Dixon Family Health Center, the area's only private health care clinic for uninsured and under-insured patients.

"We have a lot of patients who have nice homes and nice jobs but don't have (health) insurance," said Gale, who has worked at the clinic for four years.

"The cost of going to see a doctor, getting care and getting proper preventative health care is just out of reach for most people's budgets."

Cheryl Leymon, executive director of Samuel Dixon, said the clinic caters to patients who are employed but lack health insurance.

"People are working, making minimum wage to support their family, paying $1,200 rent," she said. "It is impossible to make things work."

The clinic also helps self-employed entrepreneurs, who go without health insurance in order to keep their budding business going.

"People sort of cross their fingers and hope nothing happens," Leymon said.

The Samuel Dixon Centers opened a decade ago in Val Verde, Canyon Country and Newhall. They're funded by donations and government grants, treating some 8,000 patients annually.

North East Valley Health Corp. operates four private nonprofit clinics in the San Fernando Valley, but says the Valencia facility is the busiest clinic for its size.

"I have been living in Santa Clarita for 17 years, and I never realized there was a need until I came to the Valencia clinic," administrator Hector Godoy said.

"We took over the clinic in 1995, and at the time there were 6,000 patient visits a year," he added.

"In 2006, we have more than 21,283 patient-visits a year."

Godoy said last year the clinic opened up services for pediatrics and women's health -- but the clinic has been forced to stop taking new adult patients.

Triage nurse Cerenia Bloson has seen her caseload soar sixfold over the last nine years. Often, she said, the Valencia clinic is so crowded that patients are referred to one of the facilities in the San Fernando Valley.

"It is very hard for me when I have to tell the patient we cannot offer them services," Bloson said.

"But we cannot help it."

Debbie Davenport, Santa Clarita's area health officer from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, said Santa Clarita's health care concerns are indicative of the area's growth.

"As the population grows there will always be a portion of lower-income residents who come in to provide the services needed to support that growth," Davenport said.

Davenport also suggested that clinics can be impacted by the communities' need for immunizations, which can crowd their waiting rooms.

But as health care costs continue climbing, Davenport said low-cost community clinics will become a viable option for people of all economic backgrounds.

"There is a common belief that community clinics serve the very poorest," Davenport said.

"But that need can extend up into other income levels where people just don't have access to health care."

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Dr. Michael Gales writes a prescription for Kevin Garibay, 9 months, held by his mother, Ruby Garibay, at the Samuel Dixon clinic in Newhall.

(2 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Monica Reyes, who is seven months pregnant, waits to be seen at the Samuel Dixon clinic in Santa Clarita. The center is the area's only private health care clinic for uninsured and under-insured patients.

(3 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Dr. Hadar Levour checks patient Caroline Howell, 1, with her mother, Consuelo Montes, at the Samuel Dixon clinic. The center's patient numbers are growing as more of the employed find themselves without health care.

(4 -- color -- ran in SAC edition only) Hector Godoy, right, North East Valley Health Corp. administrator

David Crane/Staff Photographer