Health Care Center to Open in Low-Income Area
A long-planned health care and resource center for the impoverished Moneta Gardens neighborhood in Hawthorne will open Monday to provide residents with low-cost and preventive health care along with resources such as voter registration and tax forms.
Residents and businesses have spent three years raising money to convert a former liquor store into the Moneta Gardens Community Center and Ace Medical Clinic, which will serve 25,000 residents in the square-mile community.
Dr. Ashok Kumar paid a three-year lease on the 1,100-square-foot building and bought furniture. The Robert F. Kennedy Medical Center funded the renovation and Catholic Health Care West is paying for staffing.
The clinic has three examination rooms and a full-time medical staff in addition to a resource room that offers information on college financial aid. Residents also can address concerns and complaints to the police department and school district at the center.
“There are so many ailments that can be detected earlier and we hope to be able to do that by providing basic medical care and health screenings,” said Felipe Merino, executive director of Moneta Gardens Improvement Inc. “The resource center will give people in the neighborhood the tools to become empowered and take care of themselves.”
The clinic is at 3933 Rosecrans Ave.
Information: (310) 978-1300.
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