A Close- Up Look At People Who Matter : Good Health Gives Kids a Better Future

By the time many children reach the Telfair Health Center in Pacoima, they are in pain because of severe tooth decay or from headaches caused by trying to read without the glasses their families can’t afford.

“There sure would be a lot of kids in the Valley in dire straits,” said Karen Lenoski, office manager at the clinic, which has been based at Telfair Elementary School since October.

“We have been a very quiet, well-kept secret,” said Carla Nin~o, the clinic’s director of student aid.

Started in 1958 by the 31st District Parent Teacher Student Assn., the clinic offers low-cost dental and vision care for low-income students who attend Los Angeles Unified School District schools. Another clinic is at Hart Street Elementary in Canoga Park.

Sometimes it strikes adult visitors that an exam room at the Telfair clinic is the same as when they were patients there years before, Nin~o said. But while that durability is something to be proud of, until recently much of the equipment used in eye exams was as old as the clinic itself.

A $5,000 grant from the Los Angeles Times Valley Edition Community Partnership Awards in May allowed the clinic to buy new equipment and expand its services, Nin~o said.

A new keratometer, for instance, has been able to give more precise exams for astigmatism, saving many children from making a return trip to the clinic, Lenoski said. The old keratometer had dated to the 1950s.

The students who visit the clinic are charged a flat fee of $40 for eye tests and glasses; dental work is done for a flat fee of $30.

“It’s not unusual for the dentist to show us 13 cavities that need to be taken care of,” Lenoski said.

Frequently, children come in with severe infections and in need of a root canal. And sometimes the problems are too severe to deal with in one visit. But the parents may not bring the child back right away because they cannot afford it.

“So, the next time we see the students is when they are in severe pain,” Lenoski said.

When a problem cannot be handled at the clinic, the children are referred to hospitals like Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar or Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles.

By coincidence, Nin~o is assistant hospital administrator and director of outpatient financial services at Olive View, which allows her to ensure that the students who are referred there get the help they need. She has seen how critical it is to provide low-cost care for a growing number of children who are underinsured or uninsured. “One of the things we’re seeing is that especially with the changing demographics and economy in our city, more and more children are being impacted by the lack of health care and dental care,” said Harriet Sculley, president of the 31st District PTSA.

And a student cannot succeed in school when they can see only eight inches in front of their face or are suffering from a severe toothache.

“How are you going to concentrate on what’s on the board when you can’t see it?” Nin~o said, explaining a philosophy behind the clinic.

“We’ll bend over backward to make sure these kids get what they need,” Lenoski said.

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