May 20, 5:01 PM EDT

Las Vegas physician pushing to open free health care clinic

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- A past president of the Clark County Medical Society is pushing to open a clinic to offer free health care to more than 300,000 uninsured southern Nevada residents.

Dr. Florence Jameson said she has no building, has promises from some physicians who would donate time at a Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada clinic.

Jameson also is working to find the medicine to dispense, and 70 physician, 30 nurse and several pharmacist volunteers.

Jameson, an obstetrician-gynecologist who has worked in Las Vegas for more than 20 years, said the effort grows from a promise she made to God and herself when she was young: "One day I will give back."

Jameson told an audience at a recent presentation of being one of five children raised by a single mother in San Diego. There was enough money for an apartment and food, she said, but not for health care. When the children got really sick, their mother took them to a family doctor who Jameson said would "graciously take care of us for nothing."

Now, she said, she's "ready to fulfill my pledge to God."

The effort comes with the number of uninsured people in the Las Vegas area growing and the region dealing with a hepatitis C outbreak blamed on unsafe medical practices at an outpatient endoscopy clinic.

Jameson said the president of St. Rose Dominican hospitals has committed facilities for diagnostic tests, and clinic organizers were hunting for free or reduced-price drugs.

She has also drawn interest from several influential Nevada doctors.

Dr. Tony Marlon, founder of Sierra Health Services, said he was surprised by the level of commitment by others.

Sierra Health, the state's largest health insurance company, was recently taken over by UnitedHealth Group. Marlon, who made about $200 million from the merger, called it too early to commit resources from a family health and education foundation to the clinic.

Dr. Leonard Kreisler, a retired physician who was chief of staff at University Medical Center, called the clinic "a promising thing," but added that there were many hurdles to overcome.

State Assemblyman Dr. Garn Mabey, R-Las Vegas, helped land about $200,000 for Jameson's clinic organization in a 2007 appropriations bill.

Mabey said doctors are enthusiastic about the proposed clinic, partly because they are too saddled with overhead in their own offices to provide free care.

"I think most doctors really do care," Mabey said. "There just has not been a facility that allows them to provide the care they would like to give for free."

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