Alliance Medical Center getting new home

Medical center has been serving Windsor patients for
more than 30 years
by BERT WILLIAMS, Staff Writer
A new building is going up next to the Healdsburg
District Hospital. The hospital is not erecting an addition in the
midst of its financial crisis, however.
The new structure will be the home of Alliance Medical
Center, a non-profit organization that, for more than 30 years, has
provided health care to everyone who comes in the
door.
There are stark contrasts between the hospital and
Alliance. While the hospital struggles to build its flow of
patients, Alliance treats more than 100 patients each day. The
hospital clings to life on borrowed funds while Alliance rolls
along with a balanced budget, even though many of its patients pay
almost nothing for care.
A community health center and a hospital are vastly
different operations with different missions and their own unique
sets of challenges. They cannot be directly compared. But if the
hospital does eventually regain its health, Alliance Medical Center
will have a hand in the revival.
Begun in 1970 by a local group of concerned volunteers,
Alliance moved into its current location, north of downtown
Healdsburg on Center Street, 25 years ago. For a long time, the
building has been far too small.
The organization’s mission statement is brief, but
far-reaching: “To provide high quality health care, health
education and preventative health services for all residents of
Northern Sonoma County regardless of their ability to
pay.”
The Medical Center runs on an annual operating budget of
$4.25 million, generated from a labyrinthine web of public funding,
private grants and — when patients have it — health
insurance.
“It’s an ever-changing proposition,” said Alliance CEO
Max Dunn. “We always have new grants in the mill.”
The new facility will increase the efficiency of the
80-member staff, now crammed into every conceivable cranny of the
current 7,000 square feet of floor space. The new
20,000-square-foot two-story building will streamline and expand
patient services.
The new building has been financed by a combination of
public and private funding, including city redevelopment funds,
several pots of state and federal money, and local foundations.
When it is completed, the city will own the building and lease it
to Alliance, which will be responsible for servicing some of the
property’s debt and for equipping and furnishing the
interior.
The Alliance staff includes five primary care
physicians, two pediatricians, an internist, two physicians
assistants, three nurse practitioners, a certified midwife, two
registered nurses, a psychologist and a nutritionist.
Under contract with Alliance are specialists in
podiatry, dermatology, chiropractic and acupuncture. Five dentists
serve more than 30 patients each day.
Medical Director Dr. Jeff Meckler said the Alliance
staff is a loyal one. “Recruitment and retention is not a problem
here,” he noted. “A lot of our staff are here because they want to
work with an underserved community, some want to work with
Spanish-speaking patients, and some don’t want to hassle with
insurance.”
“I think my personal quality of life is better working
here than working in managed care,” said Meckler.
Meckler appreciates the culture that has developed
within the medical center. “Alliance has been the place for the
Latino community for many years,” he said. “There’s a lot of
loyalty. People feel safe here — both staff and patients. I saw a
guy today who’s been coming for 12 years.”
Alliance is breaking some new ground in health care.
Under a federally-funded program, the center helps 250 patients
manage their diabetes. “We are working on some cutting edge
programs to help manage chronic diseases,” said
Meckler.
Alliance’s Office of Family Planning offers help with
teen pregnancy and parent education as well.
In addition to its on-site programs, Alliance reaches
out into the community. Students in seven North County elementary
schools benefit from “My Body is Healthy,” a program promoting a
healthy lifestyle among kids. A home visitation program provides
care for newborns and mothers, and also for the
elderly.
In 2002 Alliance Medical Center had a total of 36,000
encounters with 8,100 medical and dental patients. Some who have
private health insurance come to Alliance because of its bilingual
staff. Some are covered under state and federal programs. “And
there is a lot of uncompensated care,” said Dunn. “We do not turn
anybody away.”
Two years ago Alliance became a Federally Qualified
Health Center and received a large new federal grant.
“Uncompensated care is now billed against that grant,” explained
Meckler. The result is significantly increased financial
stability.
“Max (Dunn) has been able to make the place much more
financially stable than it was,” said Meckler. “With the federal
grant and the new building it is an exciting time for
us.”
It almost seems, however, that the old place may be
missed. “People have gotten used to this funky old building,” said
Meckler, sitting in the tiny, cluttered office he shares with Dr.
Robert Azcarraga. “There’s a grittiness that keeps things down to
earth here … There’s no question we are going to enjoy the new
building, but it is going to be a big change.”
The new facility, due to open in November, will come
none too soon. With a weakening economy, more joblessness and
increasing numbers of people without health insurance, Alliance is
experiencing a surge in demand for its services.
“Community health centers are a large and growingly
significant portion of the health care in our country,” said Dunn,
who explained that the Bush Administration has made the growth of
community health centers a key part of its health care plan for the
years to come. Federal funding for community health centers is
currently $1.5 billion nationwide, with more recommended for next
year’s budget.
“We are a safety net provider,” said Dunn, adding that
the Bush Administration is hoping to double the number of community
health centers in the country during the next five
years.
Meanwhile, Dunn said that the current state budget
crisis threatens some of Alliance’s funding. If all of Governor
Davis’ recommendations are enacted, he said, Alliance could lose as
much as $750,000 in state support.
Leaders of the hospital and Alliance expect the medical
center’s move to the hospital campus will aid both institutions.
“We have pledged to use the hospital’s ancillary services as much
as we can,” said Dunn, who has served on the hospital’s board of
directors. “We recognize the hospital as an extremely important
facility.”
Healdsburg Assistant City Manager Barbara Jason-White
believes placing Alliance in the new location “is a way to infuse
some new life into the hospital.”
Hospital CEO Dale Iverson agrees. “Max Dunn is one
hundred per cent cooperative with us,” Iverson said. He noted that
Alliance has dramatically increased referrals to the hospital since
January.
“We complement each other,” Iverson observed, pointing
out that, for many medical needs, Alliance provides more
appropriate service, at far less cost, than does the hospital
emergency room. The hospital also provides many services not
available through the medical center, including a full laboratory,
radiology, surgery, and rehabilitation programs.
“We’re anxious to have them next door,” said Iverson.
“It will complete the medical campus and will really make this a
hub of medical care for Northern Sonoma County.”