New clinics to expand health options.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

CORRECTION (ran 3/03/04): A story on Page D1 on Monday contained incorrect information. The address of the new community health clinic in Springfield is 1640 G St. Also, Lane County officials have not yet chosen a name for the clinic, but the working name is Metro Family Practice Clinic. Springfield Family Practice Group is a private clinic at 2208 Marcola Road.

SPRINGFIELD - About 5,000 men, women and children who otherwise might go without seeing a doctor or nurse will now have access to health care at a new network of community health clinics.

A new family practice clinic in Springfield will join expanded services at Springfield High School's health clinic and the Safe and Sound Homeless Youth Clinic at New Roads Center, an alternative school in Eugene, to form the Community Health Centers of Lane County.

Combined, the three sites are expected to provide about 17,000 clinic visits a year.

The federal Bureau of Primary Health Care is bankrolling the new services with a three-year, $1.9 million grant.

A new medical office, called Metro Family Practice Clinic for now, opened Monday at 1640 G St. in Springfield. The new clinic is taking over a 7,500-square-foot building being vacated by a private family practice.

The clinic is still hiring staff and is not likely to be up to full speed for several weeks, organizers said.

"The clinic is not exclusively about indigent care, but about providing very high quality health care to a community that really needs it," said Selene Jaramillo, the clinic coordinator. "We know the need is out there."

Community health leaders have been working on the project for about four years. Federal health officials were persuaded to fund the project by statistics that show that about 35 percent of Springfield's population is medically underserved - compared with 20 percent countywide - and the teen pregnancy rate is 35 percent, compared with 9 percent countywide, said Steve Manela, who manages the Lane County Human Services Commission, which is overseeing the project.

The family clinic will cater to low-income families covered by the Oregon Health Plan. As many as 20 percent to 30 percent of the patients are expected to be Latinos. People without insurance and whose income is within 200 percent of the federal poverty level will pay for services on a sliding scale. The clinic also will see neighborhood residents with private insurance.

Two physicians and two nurse-practitioners will provide care, along with a mental health specialist, two social workers and a staff of nurses. A majority of the staff will be bilingual. Patients must make appointments to see a doctor or nurse- practitioner.

The new clinic joins White Bird, the longtime free medical clinic in downtown Eugene, and the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic in west Eugene in providing health care for indigent people. While patients at the new clinic can come from anywhere in Lane County, the focus will be on serving Springfield, Manela said.

The federal grant will allow the school clinics to double the number of students seen and expand the scope of services, he said. For instance, the clinic for homeless youths will increase the behavioral health services that are provided, he said. Also, a dental hygienist will visit the schools to provide cleanings and fluoride varnishes.

HEALTH CENTER

For more information on Community Health Centers of Lane County, call 682-3550.

The school-based clinic at Springfield High School and the Safe and Sound Homeless Youth Clinic at New Roads Center, 941 W. Eighth Ave., are open for drop-in patients.

Metro Family Practice Clinic, 1640 G St., will see patients by appointment only; the clinic is still gearing up and won't be up to full operations for several weeks.

CAPTION(S):

Maria Moldonado, a nurse-practitioner, measures Maria Guadalupe Ceja's blood pressure at the Community Health Clinic in Springfield.