Simi Public Health Clinic Moves to Bigger, More Advanced Site : Medicine: The new center, which boasts 17 exam rooms, an urgent care facility and an on-site lab, tends to the needy.

After two decades of cramped quarters, short hours and near-closure, the Simi Valley public health clinic has moved to a state-of-the-art site, promising prompt and thorough care to an escalating number of needy east Ventura County residents.

More than twice the size of its predecessor, the 8,000-square-foot Sierra Vista Family Medical Center opened recently in an airy storefront at Alamo and Tapo streets.

Officials at the clinic, which boasts 17 exam rooms, an urgent care center and an on-site lab, said they hope to boost the yearly patient load from 2,400 to 24,000.

“What we’re facing is a growing number of poor people who can’t get basic care,” Dr. Nat Baumer said. “Our goal is to help people get better care closer to home.”

Baumer, who heads the emergency room at Ventura County Medical Center, will oversee operations at the new clinic, along with his wife, Dr. Joanie Baumer.

More than 200 patients sought treatment at the clinic in its first week of operation, although only eight of the clinic’s exam rooms were in use and a some stretchers were still wrapped in plastic.

To keep up with demand, Baumer said he plans to hire another physician within a month.

About 70% of the clinic’s patients are on Medi-Cal, the state health program for the poor and elderly.

“There just isn’t anybody in the east county taking people in Medi-Cal,” said Dr. W. Stanley Su, one of two family practitioners at Sierra Vista. “It’s a much-needed service out here.”

Simi Valley resident Lynn Firla, 41, heard about the clinic from her doctor at the county hospital.

Firla, who is on Medi-Cal, said she had been traveling to the Ventura hospital to avoid the overcrowding at the old Simi clinic.

“It was small and dirty,” said Firla, who brought her 10-year-old daughter, Melanie Minetti, to the new clinic for a strep throat exam. “By the time you were able to get in, you were either so sick you just went to the hospital or you didn’t bother to go at all.”

Sierra Vista, which provides prenatal care, checkups and general medical treatment, is the only clinic of its kind in the east county. A tiny part-time Moorpark clinic closed in November after it suffered severe water damage when a pipe burst.

The old Simi clinic, originally opened as a full-time center, was cut back to a part-time schedule in the late 1970s when health funds came up short. Then, during a health budget crisis in 1987, community outcry saved the clinic from shutting down for good.

Meanwhile, the number of Medi-Cal recipients in the east county mushroomed from fewer than 1,000 to more than 7,000.

Last May, as part of a larger effort to improve health care for poor residents, the Board of Supervisors gave Sierra Vista $528,000 to help get the new Simi clinic up and running 45 hours a week.

In addition to providing comprehensive health care, the clinic plans to offer health and nutrition education classes and free immunizations to infants and schoolchildren.

Over the past several years, the county has opened similar family care clinics in Oxnard, Ventura and Santa Paula.

A 5,000-square-foot clinic is under construction on Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks and a smaller clinic is being planned for Moorpark on Los Angeles Avenue.

“We’re trying to make sure that we provide care for the poor with dignity,” county hospital Administrator Pierre Durand said. “There’s no reason why we could not have a place we could all feel very proud of.”

County officials said the clinics, which are funded largely through Medi-Cal, turn a profit by operating under contract to physician groups.

“As the leaseholder, the county sets up the clinic and does the improvements,” Supervisor Vicky Howard said. “The physicians accept some of the liability.”

The clinics operate independently as satellites of Ventura County Medical Center. Physicians from the clinics form a pool to answer calls during off-hours.

Early Monday morning, Su said he was already worn out--he was on call all day Sunday and ended up delivering three babies.

“It can be tiring, but it’s good because you are giving care to people who really need it,” Su said. “And it’s comprehensive, so we take care of everything.”

FYI

The Sierra Vista Family Medical Center is at 4531 Alamo St. in Simi Valley. It is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, call 584-4885.