Community Health Center to Open

In a move to make free health care accessible to uninsured residents, Pasadena will consolidate its health services and open a 61,000-square-foot Community Health Center next week, city officials announced Wednesday.

The center, to be housed in an old community hospital at 1845 N. Fair Oaks Avenue in northwest Pasadena, is the product of meetings and studies that identified lack of access to health care as a major problem in the city. Officials estimate that one out of every four Pasadenans is uninsured--about 33,500 people.

“This means across-the-board accessibility,” city spokeswoman Linda Centell said of the center.

The center will house several public health departments and serve as the headquarters for the city’s clinics. Services will include prenatal care, immunizations and HIV testing.

But officials want to promptly add other services to the center, such as family and women’s health care, dental care and walk-in service. The emphasis, officials say, will be on preventive care.

“It’s not meant to replace existing hospitals and clinics, but to enhance and create additional access to services to those groups that have been traditionally underserved,” said Wilma Allen, a public health administrator.

The center also will house the Environmental Health Division, which issues restaurant and food permits and handles tasks such as pool inspections and vector control.

Opening the center will cost an estimated $8.2 million, officials say. They hope the center will be self-sufficient, paying for itself through fees, fund-raisers and other donations.