Patients, Allies Protest Closing of 2 Clinics

More than 100 patients and their supporters rallied outside an Eastside nonprofit health clinic Friday to protest its abrupt closing and that of another clinic in Bell. Both were operated by the Community Health Foundation of East Los Angeles.

The sudden closures leave a gaping hole in medical care for thousands of the area’s low-income and indigent patients, many of them Spanish speakers who relied on the clinics for inexpensive medical care. The two facilities were part of a network that once served 300,000 people a year.

Although staffers said they were told last week that the clinics would close Friday, it was still a shock for the protesters, as well as for patients coming for appointments, to find the once-popular facility on Whittier Boulevard shuttered. Ringing phones inside went unanswered.

“Where am I going to go now?” wondered Dolores Torres, an elderly woman who came for a midday appointment. “I’ve been coming here for years.”

Many of the protesters called on Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina to wield her influence to reopen the clinics, which were closed because of $6.5 million owed to vendors, public agencies and employees.

A spokesman for Molina, who represents East Los Angeles, said the supervisor was “very disappointed and shocked” by the closures.

In the last year, the foundation has been dogged by allegations that some patients were charged for care that was supposed to be free and that others were double-billed.

Audits by state and county investigators found evidence of such practices, and Los Angeles County officials asked the foundation’s governing board to clean up the mess by dismissing those responsible for double-billing or overcharging patients.

At the time, the board said it had conducted its own investigation and found no hint of any wrongdoing. It also said “due process” must be observed if any employees were dismissed.

Though no criminal charges have been filed in connection with the allegations, the protesters Friday laid the blame for the clinics’ closures and the foundation’s other financial troubles on its former longtime executive director, Rudy Diaz.

“He’s to blame,” more than one protester chanted.

Diaz, who could not be reached for comment, was forced to resign two months ago by federal officials, who looked into the accusations of overcharging and overbilling.

Then the foundation’s governing board stepped down too, in hopes that federal health officials would continue to grant funds for low-cost care for the Eastside.

About the same time, county and state health officials canceled a series of contracts the foundation needed to keep its last two clinics open. Among the pacts terminated were three federal grants totaling $3.2 million that were administered by the county.

Meanwhile, a Molina aide said the county has arranged for the clinic’s patients to receive low-cost care elsewhere. Among the clinics named were AltaMed Health Service Corp. in East Los Angeles, County-USC Medical Center in Lincoln Heights and Clinica Oscar Romero in the Pico-Union district, west of downtown.

“There should not be anyone left without medical service who was getting it before,” said Molina staffer Martha Molina, who is not related to the supervisor.

She added that county officials were working Friday to interview out-of-work clinic employees, who haven’t been paid in the last two weeks.

The Eastside clinic was a familiar landmark, having offered low-cost health care for 31 years. It originally was known as the East L.A. Health Task Force and later grew into a nonprofit foundation.

At one time, the foundation operated 13 clinics, including three in area housing projects and four in local schools. As many as 300,000 patients received care there annually.

With budget problems forcing the closing of the other facilities, about 30,000 a year were being treated at the clinics in East Los Angeles and Bell.

Out on Whittier Boulevard on Friday, employees who found themselves locked out said something should be done to reopen the clinic.

“We never thought that it was going to close,” said medical assistant Ana Telleria. “People felt comfortable coming here.”

Lourdes Esperanza, another clinic employee, added, “We’ve been here for 31 years. You can’t expect to phase us out in one week. Something has to be done.”