Saturday, August 15, 2009

Long lines at nation's biggest free health clinic

Orange County residents rose before dawn to drive to Inglewood for free dental, vision care.

BY COURTNEY PERKES
The Orange County Register
Comments 16| Recommend 6

INGLEWOOD – The last time the Chavez family saw a dentist, they drove three hours from their home in Yorba Linda to Tijuana where a cleaning cost $25.

On Saturday, Joaquin and Ana Chavez woke their teen daughters at 4 a.m. and headed instead to the Forum, where they waited in line for free dental exams. Since last Tuesday, the nonprofit Remote Area Medical has transformed the 17,800-seat arena into what organizers are calling the nation's largest no-cost healthcare clinic.

By Thursday, all the appointments were taken, although the clinic lasts until this Tuesday. So far, more than 2,000 patients have waited hours and hours to move from the bleachers to an assembly line of reclining dental chairs, tables with eyeglass frames and trailers for private medical exams.

Ana Chavez, 44, smiled broadly at volunteer dental hygienist P.J. Attebery after her 11:30 a.m. cleaning.

"Thank you so much. Have a nice day," Chavez said, reaching out to shake Attebery's hand.

Chavez sells real estate and her husband is a self-employed electrician. They last had health insurance five years ago when he worked at Disneyland.

"Right now we don't have money," Chavez said. "There's not enough work. I like that they're giving this to people in need. In Tijuana we spent a lot of money. Right here, we're only spending the time."

More than 1,600 volunteer doctors, optometrists and mammogram technicians staff the clinic, which runs from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. Normally, Remote Area Medical organizes care in developing nations and impoverished rural areas of America. The Southern California clinic marks the group's first entry into an urban area.

Miguel Palacios, 52, of Anaheim saw a doctor Saturday for the first time in eight years. His wife underwent her first mammogram and was also diagnosed with noncancerous growths in her uterus. After Palacios' checkup, he waited for an eye exam to replace the reading glasses he bought at the 99 Cent Only store.

The couple made their third trip to the Forum after hearing about the free clinic on the news. They first lined up Wednesday night and then were told at midnight to return the next morning for wrist bands to guarantee a spot.

"There was a large line and we were ready with pillows to spend the night," said Palacios, a self-employed tax preparer.

Robert Gordon, an Encino optometrist, said, while giving eye exams, he noticed people wearing shoes held together with duct tape.

"I probably get a lot more out of it than the people I help," Gordon said. "I've had four or five saying they lost their jobs, can't afford glasses and couldn't see to fill out job applications. It's a tragedy."

Dr. Ahmad Salih, an emergency medicine doctor from Rancho Santa Margarita, examined several patients for whom he couldn't do much. One woman, who has a painful trigger finger, needs surgery. He simply gave her ibuprofen.

"Those are the people that fall through the cracks," Salih said. "If you get shot or have a heart attack, it doesn't matter if you don't have insurance. You'll get taken care of in the ER."

By 1:30 p.m., Palacios, who arrived at 4 a.m., had an lens prescription in hand and waited to pick out frames.

"I think it's a great program," he said. "It's awesome."

Contact the writer: 714-796-3686 or cperkes@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/chav ... ios-people