CORRECTION

Hillary Borrud

Oct. 21, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- The story slugged BB-NONPROFIT-CLINICS, filed by McClatchy-Tribune Regional News for Oct. 15, contained incorrect information in the seventh graf about the jobs for which Mosaic Medical plans to hire. The clinic is hiring registered nurses.

Please kill or delete the old version and use the corrected one below.

Nonprofit clinics try to keep up as backlog of patients grows

By Hillary Borrud

The Bulletin, Bend, Ore.

Oct. 15--A loud bang jolted patients in the waiting room at Mosaic Medical in Bend on Wednesday afternoon as construction workers hammered away on new exam rooms, a nurse's station and offices funded by federal stimulus money, expanding the clinic's capacity.

The patients weren't complaining, though, because for people with limited health insurance coverage or who have lost their jobs, the clinic is one of the few places they can receive affordable or free medical care in Central Oregon. While less than soothing, the construction noise coming from behind a plastic sheet in the waiting room means Mosaic Medical will have more space to accommodate patients like the 4,896 it has served so far this year and the 400 people on its waiting list.

"We do see new patients, but we can only see a few each day," said Charla DeHate, the executive director of Mosaic Medical. "The problem that's happening now, that I just found out about this week, is people from Bend are trying to go to (Mosaic Medical clinics in) Prineville or Madras."

The two federally qualified health centers in Deschutes County -- Mosaic Medical and La Pine Community Clinic -- are in the process of expanding their services and facilities with help from federal stimulus funds, and on Wednesday, the clinics' directors updated the Deschutes County Commission on their progress. Both clinics are nonprofits, and neither turns patients away for inability to pay. The fees are based on a person's income.

Earlier this year, the La Pine Community Clinic received $100,000 and Mosaic Medical was awarded about $200,000 in two-year stimulus grants to preserve or add jobs and allow the clinics to expand or maintain services.

In August, the La Pine Community Clinic used its stimulus funds to hire a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, said Chance Steffey, the clinic's executive director. "We'll probably be able to add 400 patients just for mental health services," Steffey said. "With the attention we've gotten from getting our grant, we've had an increase in our participation in our discounted fee program," he said, adding that the clinic's goal is to provide affordable health care.

A new pediatrician will start work at Bend Mosaic Medical on Nov. 2, and another pediatrician will start in June, DeHate told the commissioners on Wednesday. The clinic is also hiring two more registered nurses to take pressure off physicians, which DeHate said she hopes will allow physicians to treat about six more patients each per day. The federal stimulus grant for staffing lasts two years, so DeHate said Mosaic Medical is looking for other grants so the clinic can keep the new employees.

DeHate said Mosaic Medical and health care facilities nationwide also face a shortage of family practice physicians. "So no matter what this country comes up with as a solution for health insurance, it will not solve the access problem," DeHate said.

Some of the people waiting for appointments Wednesday said the clinic has little or no wait to treat children, although adults might be a different matter.

"It seems like they get them in really quick," said Erika Erikson, 38, of Bend, who brought her daughter to the clinic. "I don't know about adults because when I called a couple months ago (for an appointment), they said it would be a couple of months." Erikson, who is employed, said she comes to the clinic because she does not have health insurance and her daughter is covered by the Oregon Health Plan.

Juan Rojas, 32, of Redmond, said he goes to the Bend Mosaic Medical clinic because he lost his job and cannot afford to pay for medical care. "I think for the kids, it's faster, but for me, it's longer," Rojas said of the wait, which at about a month was still less than he expected. His son, 8-year-old Jose Rojas, was with him on Wednesday.

William W. Chadsey, 70, of Culver, said he goes to the Mosaic Medical clinic in Bend because many local health care providers do not accept his Medicare.

"It took several weeks just to find this one," Chadsey said of Mosaic Medical. But once he found the clinic, he only had to wait about a week to get in.

Mosaic Medical also received $504,905 and La Pine Community Clinic received $250,000 for capital improvements such as building expansion and equipment purchases. While Mosaic Medical is using the money to expand the Bend clinic, La Pine Community Clinic will use its money to purchase a new digital X-ray machine in December or January to replace its old film machine, Steffey said.

"It's really old, and it's wearing out," he said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0016-39023696