SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Middle-Class Patient Load Grows at Clinic

The continuing recession has spurred a steady increase in the number of middle-class patients using South County Community Clinic, according to 1991 statistics released by the clinic this week.

Richard Ruiz, director of fiscal relations at the 10-year-old clinic, said the patient mix has shifted from predominantly Latino to increasingly Anglo and middle class. While patient visits are increasing among all groups, the percentage of non-Latino patients is growing the fastest, he said.

“We’re seeing a trend developing,” Ruiz said. “The amount of middle-class patients has doubled. Because of the recession, the primary wage earners are losing their income and their health insurance.”

Ruiz said the total number of “patient encounters”--visits to the clinic where a patient is actually treated by a doctor--was up from 8,000 in 1990 to 9,232 in 1991, a 16% increase. The number of non-Latino patients increased from 30% to 35% of the clinic’s patients, he said.

Ruiz said he believes that number will continue to grow as people discover the clinic’s resources. The clinic expects 14,500 patient visits in 1991-92.

“Frankly, I’m surprised we haven’t seen more” non-Latinos, he said. “I think these individuals who are now having difficulty accessing medical care, like people who have been recently laid off, don’t know were to go. This is a new event for them.”

Ruiz suggested that what is needed is “a survival guide for the middle class.” Many middle-class people are unaware of the type of services available at places like the clinic, he said.

“From my perspective, people who have to struggle have a network that distributes information rapidly,” Ruiz said. “No such network exists for the middle class. We are going to make a very honest effort to reach them. The thing we are afraid of is that we might be overwhelmed.”

A study released last month by the National Assn. of Community Health Centers reported that nearly 358,000 Orange County residents are without adequate health coverage. The study says Orange County has enough doctors, but most are too expensive for poor residents.