Local family donates to Community Clinic

A local family noted for charitable donations on a global scale selected the Laguna Beach Community Clinic to give where they live.

Nick Gross, son of the founders of the William and Sue Gross Foundation, presented the clinic with a $50,000 donation Tuesday.

“Although there is a perception that most in Laguna Beach are well provided for, I realize that many of our town’s artists, restaurant/hotel employees, domestics, seniors and students, as well as their families, rely solely on the Laguna Beach Community Clinic, because they don’t have health insurance and we all have a role in supporting this amazing place we get to call home,” Nick Gross said.

The grant will be used primarily to underwrite physician salaries and general clinical expenses, said clinic medical director Dr. Thomas Bent.

“State health program cuts along with increasing demands for primary medical care have challenged our resources,” Bent said. “Additional physician services to provide timely patient care are critical. This generous grant will help us address the growing community needs in a time of diminishing resources.”

The clinic, founded to cope with the large indigent population in Laguna in the heyday of the Flower Children, provides medical care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.

“Nick really did his research on the role of the clinic, including its history and service to the community,” Bent said. “We were all impressed by Nick, who is a young, bright philanthropist.”

“The Grosses are passionate about giving to those in need globally, but they also believe it is important to give where you live,” family spokesman Mark Porterfield said. “Nick picked the clinic and they supported it.”

The Grosses are longtime Laguna Beach residents. William Gross is a founder and chief investment officer of PIMCO, one of the world’s largest money managers.