Roomier digs for Patterson health district

 

The Del Puerto Health Care District is buying a new building at Keystone Pacific Business Park. The 29,500 square-foot site on Keystone Pacific Parkway, near Baldwin Road, will serve as a multispecialty clinic for Patterson, Newman, Gustine and other West Side communities.

From the Modesto Bee

Roomier digs for Patterson health district

By Ken Carlson
kcarlson@modbee.com
last updated: December 05, 2008 09:19:11 AM
PATTERSON -- Residents of this city and other West Side communities need medical services closer to home.
So the Del Puerto Health Care District is buying a new building at Keystone Pacific Business Park. The 29,500 square-foot site on Keystone Pacific Parkway, near Baldwin Road, will serve as a multispecialty clinic for Patterson, Newman, Gustine and other West Side communities.
There's no room to serve more patients at the Del Puerto Health Center on Ward Avenue, which will be closed after the Keystone site opens in summer 2009. The new location, dubbed the Del Puerto Medical Center, will include primary care, pediatrics, minor outpatient procedures, internal medicine, cardiology, telemedicine, radiology and other specialty services.
The rural health district also is developing prenatal care programs so mothers give birth to healthier babies. The building will have room for additions such as a small surgery center.
"It really allows the district to accommodate the various medical needs of the community," said Margo Arnold, Del Puerto's chief executive offi- cer. "Our residents will have access to care without having to travel across the valley."
The health district and Keystone Corp. expect to close the $2.6 million purchase in three to four months. It includes the building and 2.17 acres of land. The district expects to spend an additional $1.3 million on equipment and furnishings. The purchase will be financed through bank loans and fund-raising, Arnold said.
The center is supposed to pay for itself through insurance, Medicare and Medi-Cal billings, but the district may use property tax revenue to subsidize the center for a couple of years, Arnold said.
Western Stanislaus County long has had a shortage of primary care physicians, and just a few specialists come out to treat patients with heart disease or other complex medical problems.
Del Puerto's current clinic, open seven days a week, gets more than 100 patients per day. Arnold said it was hard to squeeze in an internist who began practicing at the center in October, and a new family practitioner will arrive early next year.
"We can't even walk down the hall side by side," said Dr. Eric Ramos, Del Puerto's chief medical officer. "We need more exam rooms and more procedure rooms. If we are going to have specialists rotate out here, they need exam rooms and an office to set up shop for the day."
The new location will enable specialists to practice in the community without leasing a building and hiring office staff. Specialists will come from Modesto or other places to see patients a few days a month.
The center will open with 11,000 square feet, more than double the size of the Ward Avenue clinic, with additional space reserved for growth.
Patterson resident John Azevedo said that any complicated health issue requires a trip to Modesto or Turlock for treatment. He agrees with bringing specialists to the area but wonders about the location of the new building.
"That is an industrial area, and look at all the trucks there," said Azevedo, 88. "I am surprised they didn't do more to ask input from the community."
Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.

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