CITY FOCUS:Clinic shows off new look

The welcome mat will be out from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday at the Laguna Beach Community Clinic.

Staff and board members will offer tours of the medical facilities and behind-the-scenes areas to show off “The New Face for a Caring Place,” made possible by donations.

“We have 32 people who donated money, time and materials toward the refurbishments,” said Carolyn Bent, volunteer Director of Development and a founder of the Friends of the Laguna Beach Community Clinic.

The public is invited to attend the open house, which will include entertainment by musician Grame Winder and refreshments donated by Peter and Jackie McDougall.

Admission is free. To make reservations, call (949) 494-0761, ext. 134.

Clinic refurbishments include repainted interiors and exterior, new flooring and landscaping and new office furniture in several areas. The nurse’s station was rebuilt, based on ergonomics — the study of environment, conditions and efficiency of workers.

“The nurses used to have to swivel all the way around to see what was going on in the hallway, now they will be able to just look up from what they are doing,” Bent said.

Renovations are about 75% completed, but some final touches still remain undone, including redoing the cabinetry in the examination rooms, Bent said.

The clinic also posts a Wish List on its web site, www.lbclinic.org, as well as information on how to donate vehicles to benefit the clinic. An Adopt-a-Room program will be unveiled soon.

A Brief History

The clinic was founded in 1970, offering free medical care to the “hippies” and homeless that flooded Laguna in the 1960s when hepatitis rampaged from needle exchanges and poor hygiene.

It was licensed as a non-profit community clinic in 1985 when “free” was no longer financially viable. A sliding fee scale and public support funds allow the clinic to provide medical, dental and health education services to low-income and uninsured residents of Orange County.

Services include HIV screening, pre-natal care and annual flu shots, available this year in the second week in November to patients who meet the guidelines of the county, which provides the vaccine.

More than 16,000 patient visits are logged in annually to the clinic. In 2005, 1,100 of those visits were by children under 5.

The clinic bought the building on Third Street in the early 1990s, relocating from offices on Ocean Avenue.

“We still owe about $200,000,” Bent said. “We are looking for a generous donor or donors to burn the mortgage for us.”

Friends of the Laguna Beach Community Clinic was founded in 2003 to help raise funds for the facility.

The group is recruiting members. Dues are $50 for active members, $150 for supporting memberships and $1,000 for lifetime members, of which there are 18.

A plaque honoring the lifetime members and donors to the renovation of the facility will be unveiled at the Open House.

“Variable Members” do not pay dues, but volunteer to solicit donations of money or auction items to raise funds.

For more information about the Friends, call (949) 494-0761, Ext. 106.

How to Help

Checks may be sent directly to the clinic at 362 Third St., Laguna Beach, 92651, but monetary contributions or in-kind donations of goods and services can also be made on-line (see web site above).

For more information about in-kind donations, call (949) 494-0761, ext. 141.