Ventura County’s First Health Clinic Serving Conejo Valley Opens : Medical: The Thousand Oaks facility will provide basic family care, emphasizing immunization, prenatal and post-natal care. Specialists will also visit.

Amid unpacked boxes and unpainted walls, doctors began treating patients Tuesday at the first Ventura County health clinic to open in the Conejo Valley.

The Conejo Valley Family Care Center struggled to come to life Tuesday despite plumbing problems, a scarcity of furniture, and glitches with contractors that left eight of its 12 examination rooms unfinished.

As the clinic’s manager faced a daylong scramble to call in contractors and at the same time fill the appointment book, patients said they did not object to the confusion. They were happy to finally have a nearby place to go for medical care.

“I’m used to driving all the way to Ventura,” Thousand Oaks resident Patti Hanson said. “It’s great that they’ve finally recognized that having us make that trip is just not convenient. This is much more handy.”

Dr. Chris Landon, who helped bring the clinic to Thousand Oaks and now will direct its operation, called the opening the end of a long road.

“When I first came to the county five years ago, I noticed that care was really concentrated around the city of Ventura,” Landon said. “It’s been a long evolution to finally bring a clinic into this area, but I think people will see that this will be the model for health care of the future.”

The 5,000-square-foot clinic, funded in part through Medi-Cal, is at 223 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. and is staffed by three full-time nurses and four physicians who rotate shifts.

Landon said the facility will provide basic family care, emphasizing immunization, prenatal and post-natal care. Also, several specialists in fields ranging from cardiology to endocrinology will visit the clinic on a weekly or biweekly basis.

Slightly more than half of the patients will very likely be on Medi-Cal, according to Landon, while others may have no insurance. The goal of the clinic is to provide well-rounded care to people who could otherwise not afford it, said Dr. Kristen Nugent, who worked her first regular shift at the Thousand Oaks facility Tuesday.

“We’re talking about women who are pregnant who would not see a doctor until the day they delivered,” she said. “These are people who need care early on to prevent the need for even more care at a greater expense later on.”

About 15 pregnant women are already signed up to meet with a doctor at the clinic, and another 20 have appointments for other reasons.

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Thousand Oaks resident Carol Lawrence came in on the clinic’s first day for a full checkup.

“I don’t have any insurance and I heard about the clinic opening up, so I thought I’d give the public system a try,” Lawrence said as she carried an armful of old magazines to donate to the soon-to-be-furnished waiting room.

“I found the experience to be first-rate,” she said after her exam. “The doctor was very thorough and the people were super. It’s nice to see that there’s a place for people to go who couldn’t otherwise afford it.”

Although only four examination rooms were ready Tuesday, the lack of completed facilities did not hamper operations. Only about five people came by for appointments. Employees said they are anxious to see the construction finished.

“We’re all hoping this will be completely done on Friday, which will be our first day with a full schedule of patients,” said Karen Davidson, the clinic’s manager. “As soon as it’s done, we can really do a lot with this place.”

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Landon said the clinic is expected to treat up to 90 patients a day. And Davidson said under emergency conditions the facility is large enough to treat up to 40 people at one time.

In addition to 12 examination rooms with new equipment, the clinic has a conference room, a nurse’s station and several small offices for doctors to consult with patients.

“We want to run this like a private doctor’s office. We don’t want it to be the kind of place where people have to wait two or three hours to get treated,” Davidson said. “This is a first-rate office, and people should not be afraid to come here.”

FYI

The Conejo Valley Family Center provides medical care regardless of the patient’s ability to pay. Situated at 223 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Suite 102, in Thousand Oaks, the clinic is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. For more information or an appointment, call 371-8355.