Topics / HEALTH : Pasadena Buys Site for Proposed Health Center to Serve the Needy : Medicine: City now seeks funds so it can begin treating low-income residents.

Health care for the needy in northwest Pasadena is a step closer, now that the city has acquired a building for a proposed community health center. The next hurdle is finding funding for treatment.

“It’s going to bring critical services for a population that’s been underserved,” said Jacqueline Stiff, the city’s health officer.

She said the city will seek grants from the federal government and private foundations to treat patients at the proposed Pasadena Community Health Center at 1845 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

The center will serve the one in four Pasadena residents who have no medical insurance--about 33,000 people--as well as those with inadequate coverage. Many of them live in the northwest part of the city. The center also will handle Medi-Cal patients.

Pasadena officials announced in February that they had purchased the 61,000-square-foot former Pasadena Community Hospital for $1.7 million. The site, which includes three buildings, will be renovated at a cost of about $5.5 million. The city has issued bonds, secured a grant and other funds to pay for the purchase and renovation.

The amount of money that must be raised for treatment has not been determined, Stiff said. The health center could open in early 1996.

The facility is expected to house a public health clinic offering outpatient services, including well-child and prenatal care, alcohol- and drug-recovery programs, and testing and treatment for HIV and tuberculosis.

It will have a contingent of doctors and nurses to treat routine injuries and illnesses. Serious cases, such as heart attacks and major injuries, will be referred to area hospitals, most likely Huntington Memorial Hospital and St. Luke Medical Center, Stiff said.

The center also will house most of the city Health Department’s administrative offices, which are presently in several locations throughout Pasadena.

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Representatives of the Black Males Forum, a group of community activists, and others called on city officials several years ago to establish a health center in northwest Pasadena, one of the city’s poorer areas.

Councilmen Chris Holden and Isaac Richard supported the campaign that led to the recent purchase of the old hospital site, a forum spokesman said.

Spokesman Marcus Williams said group members will serve an advisory role to ensure that the health center provides a range of services, along with an emphasis on preventive care.

“We want our people to have access to doctors for preventive care, not just when something happens,” Williams said. “We’d like to see a lot of that in that building.”