LAGUNA BEACH : Bringing the Clinic Back to Life

Three years ago, the Laguna Beach Community Clinic was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, struggling to stay alive to serve its relatively small number of patients. But now, the health-care facility is itself healthy--ironically, in part, because of the recession.

With more local residents strapped for cash and seeking less expensive health care, the center has more than doubled its patient load in the past three years and has managed to stash away about $65,000 to shop for a new medical center, director Gary Erb said Friday.

“We’re stable financially,” Erb said, adding cautiously, “That doesn’t mean we don’t need ongoing support.”

What the clinic needs most is room. The tattered medical office at 460 Ocean Ave., which has offered health care to low-income patients for two decades, is bulging with activity.

In 1989, the center logged about 4,500 patient visits, Erb said. This year, more than 11,000 visits are projected. In response, clinic workers have scrambled to make use of every inch of the center’s 1,800 square feet.

For example, what was once one of the clinic’s two bathrooms is now a cubicle where patients can be interviewed or inoculated. The toilet and tub are covered with wood and plastic cushions. A telltale shower nozzle still protrudes from the wall.

Clinic workers trace the upsurge in patient visits to a deliberate attempt by the board of directors to encourage individuals and families to receive ongoing care. Previously, Erb said, patients were more likely to appear for one office visit and never return.

The recession has also swelled the patient ranks, said Erb, an Episcopal priest who took charge of the center 14 months ago.

“We’re seeing some better-dressed people walk through the door,” he said. “We’ve got people who would normally be going to their own physician and they’d have their private health insurance. But they’ve lost their jobs and, consequently, their insurance.”

The nonprofit clinic, founded in 1970, accepts payment from patients based on ability to pay. The clinic also has a counseling center at 255 Thalia St.

In addition to those payments, the clinic collects money from the state’s Child Health Disability Program, Medi-Cal and the United Way. Donations also come from residents, private foundations, local churches and the cities of Laguna Beach and San Clemente.

Erb said widening community support has helped the clinic meet the increasing demand.

For example, Erb said South Coast Medical Center has joined the clinic in a “networking partnership,” helping to provide some services for clinic patients. Dr. Tandi Cadigan, a staff physician at the hospital, now heads the clinic’s obstetric department and delivers all babies, he said.

Other doctors in local hospitals and private practices who normally do not accept Medi-Cal have now agreed to accept referrals from the clinic, Erb said.

Erb is relying on ongoing community support to help meet the goal of “Quest ‘92,” a fund-raising drive aimed at persuading 100 individuals or organizations to donate at least $1,000 each to the clinic. The money will be used to convert the new facility into a proper medical center, Erb said.

While a final decision has not been made about the location of the new medical center, Erb said it will definitely remain in Laguna Beach.

“The city has been most supportive, always in helping the clinic survive over the years,” Erb said. “We’re kind of an unofficial city institution.”