Community Corner

Grossmont Health Board Votes $150,000 for Volunteers in Medicine

Local medical group supplies care to uninsured East County residents via El Cajon clinic.

Updated at 2:52 p.m. Friday

The La Mesa-based Grossmont Healthcare District board of directors has approved a $150,000 grant to Volunteers in Medicine-San Diego Inc., a nonprofit that helps patients who lack health insurance.

“With the present economic conditions and increase in unemployed residents in East County, we have experienced a significant increase in demand for our services,” said Maureen Hartin, VIM chief executive officer.

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“We have become the medical home for many people who would have no where else to go except to the hospital emergency room.”

The money—one of the largest grants the district has made this year—was approved by a 5-0 vote Friday morning. The district expects to allocate $1.19 million in grants in 2010-2011.

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The funds will be used to pay for diagnostic lab fees, medical supplies and X-ray and ultrasound tests for uninsured East County residents who are treated for free at the group’s El Cajon medical clinic at 1457 East Madison Ave.

The clinic, in a parking lot behind Chapel of the Valley United Methodist Church in El Cajon, is staffed by more than 100 professional volunteers, including retired doctors, nurses and support staff, who donate thousands of hours in providing primary care services to more than 2,000 patients annually.

The majority of patients are from employed working families who earn too much to quality for a government health program, yet earn too little to afford health insurance, according to VIM officials.

Debbie McElravy, president of the healthcare district board, said: “We are proud to help support Volunteers in Medicine, which provides a safety net to our uninsured population in the East County.”

The district has granted Volunteers in Medicine a total of $250,000 over the years, according to a district document (attached).

Founded in 1994, VIM’s mission is to improve access to health care for America’s underserved, particularly the uninsured, by relying on volunteer medical professionals, including retired doctors and nurses.

VIM is a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to developing free community-based health clinics for the uninsured. Some 84 VIM clinics operate in 25 states. When the El Cajon clinic opened in the fall of 2006, it was California’s first VIM clinic.

Also Friday morning, board members meeting at their Wakarusa Street headquarters approved four other grants, totaling $78,700, said district spokesman Rick Griffin:

  • Boys and Girls Clubs of East County, Head to Toe Festival of Wellness Health Fair (Request: $35,000; Committee Recommendation: $15,200)
  • Burn Institute, East County Programs (Request: $34,000; Committee Recommendation: $34,000)
  • The Arc of San Diego, The East County Training Center’s Stepping Out for Fitness and Nutrition Program (Request: $7,500; Committee Recommendation: $4,500)
  • St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center, Behavioral Health Room Dividers for Adult Development Center Program (Request: $25,000; Committee Recommendation: $25,000)

Taxpayers, though their property tax bills, supply the money distributed to the various organizations.

The Grossmont Healthcare District, formed in 1952 to build and operate Grossmont Hospital, serves as landlord of the hospital, including ownership of the property and buildings on behalf of local taxpayers.

—A Grossmont Healthcare District press release contributed to this report.


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