health care:

County OKs plan for free medical care clinic in park

Commissioners attach certain conditions to approval

Tuesday, June 2, 2009 | 5:15 p.m.

Health clinic plans meet prejudice (5-16-2009)

A controversial proposal to house a free medical clinic in a vacant county park building was approved unanimously Tuesday by Clark County commissioners, but with conditions to appease concerned neighbors.

Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada will be granted a one-year lease to open a clinic for uninsured residents in a vacant building in Paradise Park, off Tropicana Avenue and Pecos Avenue. The lease will limit the operating hours and the total number of patients to 6,000 in the first year, require the clinic to provide security and monthly updates to Commission Chairman Rory Reid, who represents the neighborhood.

Clinic opponents were grumbling as they left the meeting. Their primary argument was that the clinic, no matter how worthy a cause, was not an appropriate use for a building in a public park. Opponents of the clinic also suggested that the uninsured patients could lower property values and present a danger to children who use the swimming pool in the park.

Dr. Florence Jameson and her husband, Gard, are leading the group that wants to open the clinic, which includes 300 volunteers — about 100 doctors, 50 nurses, pharmacists and others. The Jamesons argued that there needs to be more affordable medical facilities for uninsured residents, who number in the hundreds of thousands in Southern Nevada. They will need to spend more than $400,000 to renovate the building, but then would rent it from the county for $1 a year.

The initial lease would only be extended if the clinic does not have a negative affect on the park community, Reid said.

Discussion: 3 comments so far…

By white_american_433

6/2/09 at 7:09 p.m.

Comment removed by staff.
By term25600

6/2/09 at 9:02 p.m.

Suggest removal

if we are spending money on illegal aliens, its our fault. First of all, we shower NON-citizens with the benefits of citizenship, such as free education, health care, etc. We should give those things ONLY to citizens.

Second of all, we have ridiculously high minimum wage laws which we apply to ALL workers, citizens or not. If we made minimum wage laws apply ONLY to citizens, we would have far less illegal aliens here in the first place !!!

Thirdly, thru all these programs we tell these people- we will give you goodies if you get here, but DONT YOU DARE COME. Stay in mexico where you made $2 an hour (maybe) if you can find work. Dont come here and work so you can feed your family.

Do you realy blame them for coming to the US? Its our fault really
By rejco100

6/2/09 at 11:17 p.m.

Suggest removal

"uninsured patients could lower property values and present a danger to children" What a very sick mentality your country has, very sick!

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