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August 21, 2002
Los Gatos, California Since 1881 |
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Photograph by George Sakkestad
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Dr. Richard Fox (left), with 16-year-old
patient Sarah Koleszar, stands inside the new
South Bay Children's Medical Center. With
them are Joseph Alba and Jerry Smith (far
right) of the Local 393 Plumbers Union, which
is donating material and labor for the
medical center's construction.
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Urgent care clinic for kids coming to town
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Gloria I. Wang
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In less than a month, the South Bay will
have its first urgent care clinic for
children. And Los Gatans will benefit the
most, since the facility will be on Los Gatos
Boulevard, near Los Gatos-Almaden Road.
The South Bay Children's Medical Center
Foundation has leased a little more than
1,000 square feet to serve local children
after hours and on weekends. Foundation board
members expect construction to be completed
shortly and hope to have a grand opening in
mid-September.
"We've got to get the center open before the
cold season starts," said board president
Richard Fox.
The outpatient center occupies part of the
ground floor of an office building behind
McDonald's. Owner Barry Swenson is renting
the space to the foundation at the cost of $1
per month.
According to board member Vince Bradley, the
center will be open between 5 and 10 p.m. on
weekdays and all day on weekends. At least
one doctor, one nurse and a few aides will be
on hand during those times.
The doctors will be paid a flat hourly rate,
Fox said, and patients will be charged for
their services based on insurance costs.
Low-income patients, however, will be
provided for through grant moneys.
"We don't think charitable contributions
should be used to subsidize people who should
be paying for their care. We think charity
should be used for indigents," Fox said.
Bradley said the center was made possible
through in-kind and monetary donations. Four
labor unions are doing the construction work
for free, and the foundation received grants
from groups and individuals, including the
Stella B. Gross Foundation and Citibank.
One of the companies that donated labor is
local design firm Stowers & Associates,
which is upstairs from the new clinic.
Architect Greg Stowers said he was contacted
by Bradley, with whom he had worked in the
past, and agreed to handle all the interior
renovations and assist with applying for
building permits from the town.
"In meeting with Dr. Fox and hearing what
they were planning to do, it just seemed like
a great cause," Stowers said. Helping kids is
"a soft sport for us," Stowers said, adding
that his firm has done work for Eastfield
Ming Quong over the past 16 years.
The foundation expects to continue
fundraising even after doors open to cover
ongoing costs and to reach its goal of
opening three more such centers in the
county.
Originally, the board had planned to lease a
21,000-square-foot building on Los Gatos
Boulevard between Lark Avenue and Highway 85.
In order to open that facility—an outpatient
center combined with offices for pediatric
specialists—the board needed $2 million.
That plan was dropped, however, when they
couldn't get enough capital, Bradley said.
Consolidating pediatric specialists under one
roof is still part of the plan, Fox said.
"The outpatient center is the phase one that
we always planned on," Fox said. "All we've
done is drop out the phase two until later."
The original site also presented a problem
because there was not sufficient parking to
accommodate the use of the building as a
medical center. Fox said the zoning at the
first location was more complicated than that
of the Swenson building.
With this site, they didn't have any planning
issues. "But of course we needed building
permits," Fox said. "We've gotten that
already."
Bradley said the medical center's opening is
a true community effort.
"It's really grass-roots. A lot of good
people who care about kids are saying, 'We
want to make this happen.' And that's what
it's about—the kids," Bradley said.
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