Fwd: NORWALK CLINIC RECEIVES FUNDING TO PROVIDE FOR MORE VISITS

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hammond, Judy <jhammond@ceo.lacounty.gov>
Date: Tue, Jun 17, 2008 at 4:18 PM
Subject: NORWALK CLINIC RECEIVES FUNDING TO PROVIDE FOR MORE VISITS
To: "Hammond, Judy" <jhammond@ceo.lacounty.gov>

NEWS FROM DON KNABE

Supervisor, Fourth District

County of Los Angeles

822 Hahn Hall of Administration

        FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                           Contact:        David A. Sommers

                                                                                                                                        (213) 974-1095

                                                                                                                                        (213) 453-6446 (cell)

NORWALK CLINIC RECEIVES FUNDING TO PROVIDE FOR MORE VISITS

LOS ANGELES, June 17, 2008 – The Norwalk Regional Health Center will be able to accept roughly 1,600 additional medical visits after the Board of Supervisors approved an agreement with JWCH Institute, Inc., Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

 
The Norwalk clinic, which provides free and low-cost medical care and social services to the residents of the surrounding communities, will now be able to see over 1,500 more patients.  These newly-funded visits will go primarily to uninsured or indigent adult patients that are not eligible for any publicly funded programs.  According to the County's Health Department, nearly 27,000 people in the City of Norwalk have no health care insurance. 

"Health centers like the one in Norwalk are absolutely vital to the County's healthcare system, and the more patients they can see the better," said Supervisor Knabe.  "A clinic visit is substantially more cost effective than a trip to the emergency room, and by making our clinics more accessible we are reducing the strain on a very fragile ER system."

The $150,212 for the Norwalk clinic was part of a larger $2,075,708 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Program Health Care Services Agreement with JWCH.  PPP agreements are critical to the healthcare safety net of the County and through private partners like JWCH they provide primary, specialty, and/or dental care to the indigent, low-income, uninsured patient population throughout Los Angeles County.  The Norwalk Regional Health Center is located at 12360 Firestone Boulevard in the City of Norwalk. 

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Michael Higby