Clinic is just what the patient ordered

When the Laguna Beach Community Clinic was founded in 1970, its mission was to provide healthcare to those who couldn’t afford to pay for it themselves.

Despite the financial burden it shoulders, the clinic holds true to that mission, and more than 16,000 patients a year visit its tiny building with nine exam rooms.

“Our goal is to take care of people, regardless of their ability to pay,” said Dr. Tom Bent, clinic medical director and chief operations officer.

After losses ballooned to an estimated $250,000 in the 2004-2005 fiscal year, the clinic is reporting a surplus of about $150,000 for the 2005-2006 year, a gain that is significant in pulling the clinic out of the hole.

The gain allowed the clinic to keep operating on a daily basis, however it is still struggling to make up the remaining $100,000 of the deficit, Bent said.

He credits the gains to what he calls “heroic efforts” by the staff, as well as good planning on his part.

Bent grew up in a family business — parade float building. He also ran the UCI Family Health Center in Santa Ana, the largest clinic in Orange County, and believes a combination of business sense and medical skill has helped him put the clinic’s finances into the black for the year.

The money has allowed the clinic to make needed renovations including new paint in exam rooms, landscaping and benches.

It has also allowed the clinic to hire several new volunteer specialists to give its service depth in everything from neurology to nutrition. The clinic was also able to hire one new full-time family practitioner, Dr. Antoinette San Bartolome, who is in her seventh month at the clinic.

According to Bent, there is still plenty to do on the clinic’s wish-list, such as a new roof. One major project he said he would love to have off his list is to retire the clinic’s mortgage.

In order to make up for the losses, Bent and other key staff members took pay deductions in 2005 to avoid cutting too deeply into many programs. The co-payment was also doubled — from $10 to $20.

Since then the staff has gotten back the cuts it took and its services are back to full strength.

Bent said the key to keeping the clinic on the right path is public donations, which he said can be a precarious spot to be in for a nonprofit medical outfit.

If the clinic is struggling financially, Bent said, donors are wary to give to what may seem an unsafe investment. If the clinic is doing well, on the other hand, donors are less willing to support the clinic because they think it doesn’t need the help.

“We are holding our own in a very tough donor environment. We’re working for more private donations,” Bent said.

Though 75% of the clinic’s funding comes from government grants and reimbursement programs, the remaining 25% is made up mostly of public support and patient payments.

Most patients qualify for a government medical assistance grant or reimbursement program, Bent said.

Those who don’t qualify are charged on a sliding scale based on their income, which determines how much they will have to pay.

The clinic offers myriad services for affordable prices, and is the only nonprofit clinic in South Orange County with an urgent care center.

According to the clinic’s published statistics, it also boasts pediatric and family planning services, which accounts for 50% of its patient load; general medicine, accounting for 35%; diabetes services, 10 %; and HIV/AIDS services, 5%.

Dr. Korey Jorgensen, who heads the clinic’s highly regarded HIV/AIDS program, was recently named the Man of the Year by the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and Civic Assn.

Bent said that although few of the staff work full-time at the clinic, the number of volunteers and part-timers who work varying amounts of time, such as Jorgensen, maintain the clinic at the equivalent of a five-doctor practice.

“It is a team effort here,” Jorgensen said. “Without all of us, we simply couldn’t do the work we do.”

Bent, who has been involved with the clinic since 1982, is proud of the diabetes program, and said many people who have insurance or can afford to pay regular medical prices choose the Community Clinic because it offers superior care. The clinic asks those who can afford care elsewhere to pay full price for services rendered.

The clinic’s staff is itself a small community serving a small community.

“This is a great place to work, I love this clinic,” San Bartolome said. “It feels like home.”

Many patients said they are glad to have the clinic’s services available to them.

“I like the clinic a lot, it’s a good place,” patient John Verdugo said. “A lot of people that wouldn’t be able to afford a normal doctor can get one here.”

Despite the clinic’s turnaround under Bent’s direction, Bent is modest about his achievement.

“I’m just a family doctor doing my best,” Bent said.