Clinic to Stay Open Despite UCI Pullout

The Laguna Beach Community Clinic will remain open in July, providing at least basic medical services to families, even though UCI Medical Center had planned to close the facility at the end of this month, an official said Wednesday.

Harry Weis, treasurer of the community clinic’s board of directors, said trustees have been working steadily to ensure that the facility, a fixture in the city for 26 years, will not close.

“On July 1, the doors will be open with some reasonable variety of service,” he said. “We do intend to be able to provide primary medical care.”

Maureen Zehntner, deputy director of clinical affairs for UCI Medical Center, said Wednesday that, according to an agreement the center has with the county, it will continue providing basic medical care and dental services until Aug. 1 at the clinic for patients with the AIDS virus.

UCI Medical Center in Orange, which acquired the financially struggling community clinic in May 1995, said last month that because of financial pressure it would have to close the facility by the end of June and lay off 23 people who work there.

Weis said the board has sent “feelers” to at least 15 health-care organizations in Orange County in hopes of finding another agency to run the clinic. A grass-roots fund-raising effort is also underway.