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Imagine a community clinic, the community’s last refuge for health care, turning away thousands of patients, rejecting physicians wanting to volunteer their services, and refusing donated medical equipment – all because of a lack of space.

Pause

Patient Story #1 – E.R. actor?

Talking Head, cut to job responsibilities

I’m Hector Elizondo and I’d like to tell you about Valley Community Clinic – one of our community’s best-kept secrets.

Narrator on-camera

The people served by Valley Community Clinic aren’t who you think they are – they are employees, contract workers, small business owners, studio workers and others who don’t have access to regular healthcare.

Overview of patient base, waiting room, quick cuts.

The San Fernando Valley has about 500,000 “working uninsured” – people who have jobs, but no health insurance.  Hard economic times promise only to make this problem worse.

Overview of Valley from helicopter, cut to individuals working at jobs without health insurance, then to headlines of economic doomsday.

Each year, over 20,000 of these individuals receive health care at Valley Community Clinic. 

Shots of waiting room, outside of clinic

Without health clinics like Valley, these patients will use local Emergency Rooms, creating delays for those who face medical emergencies, and increase costs for everyone.

ER action photo, emergency vehicle wheeling patient into ER

Patients will also wait longer for care, creating sicker, and more expensive, patients.

Patient in ICU

Patient Story #2, ending with the patient on-camera, looking into the camera, saying the line ….

  “you know, when I first went to Valley Clinic I thought it was just for the homeless, illegals and transients.  What I found out was very different.

Patient on-camera, cut to working, cut back to on-camera for final line.

That’s right – the patients aren’t who you might think.  Valley clinic patients are Valley residents. Because the cost to Valley Community Clinic of a patient visit is about 33% less than the same visit to a county clinic, Valley can offer a generous sliding fee scale that encourages responsibility by letting families pay what they can afford.

Beau on-camera, cut to patient paying a few dollars as they leave the clinic.

Even those who don’t use the clinic benefit from the clinic doing its job.

Hector on-camera

“Without the clinic, those patients who currently go to the clinic will likely turn to the emergency rooms of local hospitals.  While hospitals MUST provide treatment through the emergency rooms to anyone who walks in, we pass these costs on to other paying patients.  A clinic visit costs about $100, while an ER visit runs several thousand dollars. In essence, everyone pays when someone uses the emergency room instead of a clinic.”

Hospital CEO, on camera, cut to emergency room

Basic health care is a critical issue.  Primary health care helps prevent communicable diseases from spreading to other children.  Healthy children learn better and are less disruptive in the classroom.  Learning starts with well-nourished, healthy children.

School room shot, with kids playing, and coughing on each other.

Patient #3 Story – Mom with kids to emphasis the previous point??

Small Business Owner on camera, cut to workers.

Fade to Black.

Today, Valley Community Clinic faces the most difficult challenge in its 30-year history.

Adapt to black and white of building and sign

Besides turning away patients, physicians and medical equipment, Valley Community Clinic cannot create three needed health care services in the community – dental, pre-natal, and pediatrics – ONLY because it lacks space.

Patients backed up at the front door, turning away

(This paragraph is redundant with the next, so we can use either one, or both, depending upon the look, sound, and overall length)

“It’s really about space.  Besides turning away volunteer doctors, patients and donated equipment, we also can’t provide dental, pre-natal and pediatric services – all because of a lack of space.   Our old 10,000 square foot clinic in North Hollywood couldn’t meet the needs of a growing uninsured community.”

Bill Birrell, cut to outside of Cedar Sinai and/or signage.

In late 2001, the clinic was presented with an extraordinary opportunity.

New building

A 45,000 square foot medical office complex located at Coldwater Canyon and Vanowen Street in North Hollywood became available. 

New building, map overview of area.

Since it was built as a medical building, very little renovation needs to be done.

Current signage

The asking price of $5.5 million is $2.1 million LESS than the assessed value.

Interiors of building

It allows the clinic to expand the number of exam rooms from 8 to 28

Interior of building

It is perfectly situated on bus lines … located in a federal designated medically underserved area … and is completely ADA compliant.

Bus pulling away with patients disembarking, local scenes of poverty, and a wheelchair bound patient.

And, perhaps most important, since 40% of the building has highly profitable leases, the clinic has the increased source of revenue necessary to add such needed services as pediatrics, pre-natal, and dental.

Other medical offices, signs, etc.

“As much as I’d like to say we planned it this way, the fact is the building sort of fell into our lap.  It allows us to responsibly grow the clinic into new and needed services without risking our financial health.”

Bill Birrell

The new Clinic will be divided into 6 areas:

Floor Plan overview

An expanded Family Health Center will include services for adults including pre-natal services for pregnant women, women’s health and preventive care.

Lift out corresponding part of floor plan, CG appropriate name, and B roll of appropriate patient being treated.

A new Children’s Health Center will allow for specialized treatment for children up to the age of 12.

Lift out corresponding part of floor plan, CG appropriate name, and B roll of appropriate patient being treated.

A new Dental Center will help Valley Community Clinic patients insure health and self-esteem through dental treatment and education.

Lift out corresponding part of floor plan, CG appropriate name, and B roll of appropriate patient being treated.

An expanded Counseling Center will allow Valley Community Clinic to continue its 30-year tradition of providing mental health services to individuals and families.

Lift out corresponding part of floor plan, CG appropriate name, and B roll of appropriate patient being treated.

An expanded Teen Health Center will carry-on the national-award-winning work of the Valley Community Clinic Teen Clinic.

Lift out corresponding part of floor plan, CG appropriate name, and B roll of appropriate patient being treated.

The Valley’s only low-cost Optometry Center will be also able to expand into new diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions, including contact prescription.

Lift out corresponding part of floor plan, CG appropriate name, and B roll of appropriate patient being treated.

The cost to purchase and move-in to this new building is $6,500,000.  Valley Community Clinic can comfortably afford a $1,500,000 long-term mortgage – leaving $5,000,000 to raise in a capital campaign.

Front of building, CG each cost over front of building, total to $6,500,000.

“We thought long and hard about raising this kind of money in this kind of environment.  Our professional feasibility study indicated we could raise $3,500,000.  In the end though, we really had no option – the community needs dental, pre-natal and pediatric services, and we just couldn’t keep turning away 200 patients a week, saying ‘thanks, but no thanks’ to volunteer doctors and turning down donations of medical equipment.”

Bill Birrell, on camera cut to pictures of needy patients.

Some might wonder about the need for a capital campaign with the clinic having already moved into the building ….

Beau Bridges, on-camera

The fact is we had to buy the building when we did in order to get our campaign’s lead gift of $1,500,000 from the City of Los Angeles.  They made us spend the money by December 31, 2001.  The only reason we can afford a bridge loan on the balance is we are using the $30,000 a month we get from leasing part of the building as bridge loan payments.  Ultimately, though, we need the lease payments to go to medical and dental programs, not to a mortgage, so we need raise a total of $5,000,000.

Ann Britt

The benefits of a successful campaign are real and tangible …

General health care B roll

…more people can receive care in a health clinic environment instead of more expensive emergency room.

General health care B roll

…more dental services will be available to the working uninsured.

Dental patient

…more pediatric services will be available to those children who need it most.

Kid patient

…more pregnant women will get the care they, and their unborn child, need before society is faced with expensive pediatric services for children who are born unhealthy.

Pregnant mom, ultrasound with husband in the background.

…the Valley’s largest provider of care to the working uninsured will be able to STOP turning away patients, doctors and donated equipment.

New Clinic

Patient Story #4

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