CHOC clinic loses another round

At first glance, it appears the Children’s Hospital of Orange

County and Newport-Mesa school district-sponsored health clinic on

the Rea campus is a good way to provide free care to the students (A

Closer Look, “Rea plan becomes center of debate,” Monday).

A closer look reveals that this is not the case.

The clinic will be serving all young people from zero to 17 (21

for chronically ill) that need not be students of Rea or any other

district school. The people served need not even be residents of the

school district, or even citizens or legal residents of this country.

With all the talk about upgrading the quality of life on the

Westside, this clinic will work against that by attracting people

from across the county looking for a handout, and not living in or

contributing to Westside’s community.

CHOC and the district have attempted to ramrod this project

through with no input from the Westside community. In their zeal to

get a share of Proposition 10 money, they have run roughshod over the

interests of the residents of the Westside. This is another case of

the liberal establishment purporting to know what is best for the

rest of us.

BILL JOHNSON

Costa Mesa

Never let it be said that we Westside Costa Mesans aren’t a

generous lot. We take care of more of our city’s poor and downtrodden

than virtually any other city our size. Charities abound here on the

Westside.

However, enough is enough.

When we begin to endanger our own schoolchildren to benefit all

those from surrounding cities, we cry, “foul.” If CHOC must locate

another free clinic in Costa Mesa, at least let it be placed in an

underserved area. Eastside or north side might be fine; ask the folks

in those areas. Those of us on the Westside have already done our

duty.

CHRISTIAN ERIC

Costa Mesa

I am writing in opposition to the idea of locating the CHOC

medical clinic on the grounds of the Rea school on Hamilton Street.

Why place a medical clinic in the middle of a residential

neighborhood on an elementary school ground?

We need to be protecting our children from strangers entering the

school area, not adding unknown persons visiting school grounds and

adding traffic to an already busy street. Trying to make a left turn

onto Harbor Boulevard from Hamilton in the afternoon is already

impossible.

JAN PETERSON

Costa Mesa

While the writer’s difficulty following the final outcome of the

school board’s deliberations on the proposed CHOC/district free

clinic at Rea school is understandable, her conclusion is incorrect

(“Trustees waver on Rea health center,” July 18).

Rather than proposing to postpone the clinic issue “for the

discussion by the full board,” as the Pilot reported, trustee Martha

Fluor can be seen and heard on the video stating, and I paraphrase,

that the board needs two members, that this is going to die right

here if the board doesn’t get two members to bring this forward to

the August agenda.

Fluor repeated her plea several times and received no response, at

which point she changed her plea to: “I need one member to bring this

forward, I need one member.” Board member Jim Ferryman then replied:

“I can go with you on that.”

After failing to convince two of her peers on the board to agree

to bring the Rea clinic issue up for later discussion, Fluor, a board

member who had appropriately excused herself from voting on the

issue, then made a motion to keep it alive.

If Fluor’s voting on an issue is inappropriate, wouldn’t a motion

regarding the issue also be inappropriate?

This action is especially troubling because Fluor admits the issue

was dead at that point, and apparently no two members were willing to

resurrect it.

Fluor was also vociferous in her lobbying for the clinic, and this

observer wonders if lobbying also constitutes a conflict of interest.

Given the actions taken by Fluor, this observer believes that the

issue should be allowed to die for lack of support.

The proposed clinic at Rea is simply the wrong idea in the wrong

place. I doubt many Pilot readers would want a free clinic in their

neighborhoods.

ERIC BEVER

Costa Mesa