Opening of Clinic Brings Relief to Area : Oxnard: County-run Magnolia Family Care Center provides health services near La Colonia. More than 1,000 patients a month are expected.

For Emilia Contreras, eight months pregnant with no transportation and little money, a trip from Oxnard to Ventura to seek prenatal care has been difficult and sometimes impossible.

But with the opening of a new county health-care clinic in Oxnard, the 22-year-old mother of two said seeking medical treatment has become a cinch--she can walk to the public clinic from her home.

“Ventura is farther, and sometimes I don’t have a place to leave my children if I have to go over there,” Contreras said. “The nurses and doctors here treat you with respect.”

The county-run Magnolia Family Care Center began providing health care this week near the city’s La Colonia neighborhood, bringing much-needed relief to the area’s other public clinic.

Las Islas Family Clinic, also operated by the Ventura County Medical Center, has been swamped with patients since it opened in 1992, and sees an average of more than 100 people daily, said Robert B. Lefkowitz, director of the Magnolia clinic.

More than 1,000 patients a month are expected to seek treatment at the new clinic, Lefkowitz said. Many of those patients will be referred from Las Islas, but others will be new patients, he said.

Pierre Durand, top administrator of the Ventura County Medical Center, said that while county officials have threatened to slash the health-care budget, he fought to make sure the Magnolia Family Care Center was spared.

“I have worked very hard to get that clinic in Oxnard,” Durand said. “Times are very difficult in health care. But our other clinic in (Oxnard) has been full ever since we opened it. There is a need (for another clinic) in this community.”

The Magnolia clinic, situated on Magnolia Avenue next to Oxnard Boulevard, offers pediatric and obstetric services as well as general medical care, and will allow more Oxnard patients to access the county’s medical network.

The county spent $300,000 to convert the building into a health-care clinic.

“There is a very large population here, lots of children, and we are trying to reach out to these people,” said obstetrician Jose Gonzales, one of the clinic’s four physicians. “I think because of the location, the quality and the availability of services, it won’t be long before they are walking over here.”

Maria Gonzales visited the clinic Wednesday with her 7-week-old son, Antonio Gonzales Jr., for a postnatal exam. Gonzales said she previously had to go to Ventura to receive medical treatment, and is grateful for the new center.

“They take care of you very well,” Gonzales of Port Hueneme said. “This location is much more convenient.”

The county previously operated a public clinic in La Colonia, but the facility was shut down about five years ago because the building was inadequate, medical center spokeswoman Patricia Rumpza said.

Hospital officials in 1992 expected Las Islas to take the place of the La Colonia clinic. But they found instead that Las Islas drew patients from other parts of the city and not as many from La Colonia. The neighborhood’s residents were still in need of a clinic closer to their home, Lefkowitz said.

The new center has eight examination rooms, a laboratory where pregnancy tests and urinalyses are performed, and a classroom where patients will be educated on prenatal care, diabetes, women’s care and other health issues.

Hospital officials said they plan to meet with Latino leaders in Oxnard and visit the area’s Spanish-language television and radio stations to promote the clinic.

“There’s a real need for the services we provide,” Lefkowitz said. “Hopefully, we’ll treat a lot of people here.”