Howard Kahn, CEO, L.A. Care Health Plan:
“We are thrilled to help build the first and only Federally Qualified Health Center in the Antelope Valley because we know how important and needed it is for this community. It is a great honor to celebrate the Antelope Valley Partners for Health’s (AVPH) grand opening with its residents who will now have better access to health care services. The opening of this clinic shows what can happen when community members advocate for their own health. L.A. Care has always been concerned with the lack of health care services in this part of the County, but we became more involved due to the advocacy of L.A. Care’s Antelope Valley Regional Community Advisory Committee. The Antelope Valley committee is one of 11 L.A. Care consumer committees throughout the county working to improve the health and well-being of their families, friends, and neighbors. We owe a tremendous amount to their commitment and dedication to making this clinic a reality. Now, thanks to them and to the passion and vision of Jim Cook, CEO of AVPH, and our fellow community partners, this new clinic expects to serve more than 30,000 uninsured or underinsured patients during the first year.”
Howard Kahn, CEO of the nation’s largest public health plan, celebrated the ribbon cutting and opening of the Antelope Valley Community Clinic’s Community Health and Wellness Center today from 11a.m. – 12:30p.m. Kahn was a guest speaker who presented an orange tree as a gesture of our continued partnership and growth.
The new clinic, which will provide primary, specialty care and dental services, is located at 45104 10th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534.
Serving as the MC, Mel Grussing, Chairman of AVCC’s Board introduced James Cook, Chief Executive Officer of AVCC, and key note speaker, Supervisor Michael Antonovich of L.A. County’s 5th District.
Fred Ali, President of Weingart Foundation, Dr. Phillip Tusp from Kaiser Permanente and Ed Mirzabegian, CEO of Antelope Valley Hospital, were among other prominent speakers during the event.
Below, please find the Antelope Valley Community Clinic’s press release for more information.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: James Cook, CEO
Antelope Valley Community Clinic
Address: 45074 10th Street West #109
Cell: (818) 419-4335
Email address jcook@avclinic.org
The Antelope Valley’s First Federally Qualified Health Center Opens Today
Clinic Expects to Serve More Than 30,000 Patients During the First Year
Lancaster, CA – July 21, 2010 – The Antelope Valley Community Clinic (AVCC) will hold a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the first Federally Qualified Health Center in the Antelope Valley. AVCC is a Comprehensive Community Health and Wellness Center and is the first of its kind in the Antelope Valley. The ceremony will take place at the new clinic site located at 45104 10th Street West from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. on September 3, 2010.
In August of last year, AVCC opened Phase I, a 2,800 square-foot suite located in Arbor Grove Multi-Family Low-Income Housing Complex. The Arbor Grove Clinic utilizes eight exam rooms and sees approximately 750 uninsured and underinsured children and families per month. The new clinic site shares the same parking lot. Once the larger clinic opens, the Arbor Grove clinic site will be used for Specialty Care, including Diabetes, Asthma, Podiatry, GI and Optometry.
Phase II of the project is a 15,000 square-foot facility that will serve as the primary space for clinical services including Pre-Natal/OB, Pediatrics, Family Medicine and Adult and Children’s Dental Clinic. It will also provide space for Education and Prevention Classes and house the administrative offices for Antelope Valley Community Clinic and Antelope Valley Partners for Health.
The AVCC is the first Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike (“Look-Alike” meaning that it must comply with the same eligibility and compliance requirements as a full FQHC but does not receive an annual grant) located in and serving the Antelope Valley. The FQHC designation allows AVCC to provide quality care at an affordable price based on a patient’s income. The clinic includes primary care, specialty care, prenatal and perinatal services through Antelope Valley Hospital’s OB Clinic, which will share space and screening for breast and cervical cancer, as well as immunizations, disease management for diabetes, asthma and hypertension.
In late 2005, Antelope Valley Partners for Health (AVPH), a community based non-profit, created a Community Clinic Advisory Board that met to assess the health care needs and then develop a plan to address the critical lack of services. The Task Force was comprised of community residents and leaders including: AVPH, Care-A-Van, Antelope Valley Hospital, Lancaster Community Hospital, Kaiser Permanente, High Desert Medical Group, Antelope Valley College, LA County DPH, Supervisor Michael Antonovich’s Office and the Cities of Palmdale and Lancaster. The Task Force concluded that to best meet the health needs of the community, a new non-profit governed by local residents was necessary to ensure that the best interests of the community were being served.
Lead funders of the clinic include L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, and Kaiser Permanente. Additionally, this capital project has been funded by grants from The Ahmanson Foundation , The Ralph M. Parson’s Foundation , The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health and The Weingart Foundation.
In August, our Palmdale clinic will also be moving into a newly renovated facility with 14 exam rooms and education and training rooms. Palmdale will increase from about 8,000 to over 16,000 visits per year.
The mission of the AVCC is to enhance the well-being of the community by providing comprehensive high-quality health care services including prevention and education with special emphasis on the medically underserved and low-income populations. AVCC’s goal is to significantly expand access to primary care, dental care, disease management, prevention and educational services.
In less than 3 years AVCC will have gone from providing 3,200 visits a year to 30,000 visits by the end of 2010 and 50,000 by the end of 2011.