Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Struggling Health Clinic Gets More Federal Funds

A public medical clinic struggling to cover expenses has received an additional $50,000 in federal funds to continue serving low- and moderate-income residents.

The Samuel Dixon Family Health Care Center, which marked its first anniversary at its San Martinez Road site Thursday, was awarded the Community Development Block grant earlier this month.

The grant was issued by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, which allocates the Community Development Block funds in that area.

The grant is a relatively small one in the medical field, but because the center has a total annual budget of only about $300,000, it is expected to have a sizable impact.

“We are the only community-based clinic in the Santa Clarita Valley reaching people without insurance,” said Peggy Freeman, executive director for the center. “Without the Community Development Block grant, we would not be able to provide health care for the valley.”

The center offers general medical care, pediatrics, women’s care, mental health and health education services.

“We’re bare bones over here at this little clinic, but what we do in terms of medical service is phenomenal,” Freeman said.

The funds were the second federal block grant the center has received this fiscal year, for a total of $170,000.

The additional funds reflect the center’s growing workload. Some 3,134 patient visits were recorded in 1993, up from 2,313 in 1992 and only 835 in 1991.

The growing number of visits helped spur the move from its earlier location, in a rented community room adjacent to a church, to a new site across from Val Verde Park.