Kaiser opens clinic for Armenians

Robert Chacon

Kaiser Permanente opened an Armenian Service Center at its Glendale

medical offices Thursday in hopes of better serving the city’s

Armenian American population.

While the city’s population is 45% Armenian American, only 3% of

the patients at Kaiser’s Glendale medical offices are of Armenian

descent, spokesman Kevin Dunegan said.

The seven employees -- including four physicians, a physical

therapist, lab technician and pharmacy assistant -- who staff the

third-floor office of the center speak Armenian. The physician team

will include a pediatrician, two family-practice physicians and one

internal medicine doctor. One of the family-practice doctors also

provides obstetric care.

With the addition of the center, Kaiser is hoping to double the

number of Armenian American patients it serves in the city, Dunegan

said.

“If Armenian patients go somewhere for medical services, it is a

hospital with an Armenian-speaking staff,” he said.

The center’s goal is to improve the health of the area’s Armenian

population. Statistics show they are at high risk for cardiovascular

disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

The hospital also wants to build relationships with the Armenian

American community.

“To do that, you need to know and understand their culture and

their family structure. We’re creating a place where that will be

understood,” physician Krikor Dermarian said.

The office is at 444 W. Glenoaks Blvd.