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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > MARIN CLINICS MUST GROW TO MEET NEED
Article published - May 5, 2008
Credit: NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL
Marin Community Clinics must grow to meet need
NEW AND EXPANDED HEALTH CENTERS PLANNED; BUSINESS SUPPORT URGED
BY GRACE HUGHES
Health care issues and rising costs are on the minds of everyone these days, and the business community is especially vexed by the dichotomy of wanting to provide its workers with adequate protection and the exploding costs of doing so.
As board chair and former president of Marin Airporter, I understand the need for employee health care delivery. Medical insurance costs are often more than small to medium-sized businesses can absorb. Even when a business can provide coverage, it often does not extend it to other family members.
We all know that a community is only as vibrant and healthy as its citizens. While Marin is arguably an affluent county, tens of thousands of its residents have inadequate or no medical insurance. About 14,000 of these individuals, including many business owners and their employees, receive medical treatment from the Marin Community Clinics.
To improve access and expand services to meet the growing need, Marin Community Clinics is opening a new clinic in San Rafael, renovating its Greenbrae facility and planning to move the Novato clinic to a larger, more accessible location.
Novato is a curious case in point. While it is a growing community with a receptive business environment, Novato has the dubious distinction of being a federally designated “medically underserved area with a medically underserved population.” Marin Community Clinics is addressing that problem with plans to accommodate one-third more patients at an expanded Novato clinic. This will serve not only the unemployed, but also many of the city’s independent contractors and much of its work force.
In response to the challenges facing the business community, Marin Community Clinics is investigating options for partnering with local businesses to safeguard the health of employees and their families while minimizing the cost of health insurance. In the meantime, Marin Community Clinics delivers primary care and specialty services to the growing population of uninsured and underinsured throughout the county.
Improving the health of everyone in Marin County is a tall order, yet today we have an extraordinary opportunity to do just that.
Thanks to the generosity of individuals, foundations, Sutter Health, Kaiser Permanente and the county of Marin, Marin Community Clinics has raised $7.7 million toward its $9.8 million goal.
I urge my Marin business colleagues to join me and others who have recognized the need to ensure a healthy Marin work force in investing in “Building a Healthy Future” for all of Marin.
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Grace Hughes currently serves as chair of the board of Marin Airporter and was the company’s president and CEO for 25 years. She’s the chair of Marin Community Clinics’ “Building a Healthy Future” capital campaign and is a former member of the board of Marin Community Clinics and the Marin Community Foundation. For information about the foundation or to donate, go to www.marinclinic.org, phone 415-448-1546 or mail, Marin Community Clinics, 300 Professional Center Drive, Suite 300, Novato, Calif., 94947
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