By RACHEL RASKIN-ZRIHEN/Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched: 03/18/2008
Carlos Castellanos, left, helps to check-in his friend, Mark Callejo, for nausea and vomiting at the Sutter Solano emergency room in Vallejo. (Stacey J. Miller/Times-Herald)
A partnership between two local health care providers may lead to fewer serious illnesses and lower health care costs in Vallejo, hospital officials said.
Sutter Solano Medical Center and La Clinica de la Raza hope to create a new primary care facility near Sutter to be run by La Clinica, officials from both organizations said in recent interviews.
The idea is to cut down on the number of uninsured and under-insured patients using the emergency room as their neighborhood clinic, they said.
"Sutter serves the lion's share of the un- and under-insured in southern Solano County," said Terry Glubka, Sutter Solano's chief executive officer. "If someone is uninsured or underinsured and they come in needing treatment, you don't just put them on the street. You treat them."
But an emergency room is an expensive operation, and using it for nonemergencies creates longer wait times for true emergencies, she said.
Many patients without proper insurance also wait for treatment until a minor illness becomes acute, which not only costs the hospital money, but is also dangerous for the patient, Glubka said.
Hospital officials think Sutter Solano will save about $500,000 annually if the clinic opens, she added.
La Clinica is already providing medical care in its Tuolumne Street clinic, and within the past couple of years was handed operation of Sutter Solano's "Great Beginnings" pre-natal and new mom/baby program.
That's working well, so hopes are high that an expanded primary care facility would, too, said Glubka and La Clinica spokeswoman Jane Garcia.
"We've already participated in one venture and that's been a real win-win for both organizations and the community, and we're going to do that again," Garcia said. "The many people who are making inappropriate use of the ER could really benefit from having a primary care facility."
The north Vallejo facility would be in addition to La Clinica's Tuolumne Street clinic, Garcia said.
Funding is the only holdup, the women said.
While Sutter is willing to contribute something, and La Clinica is entitled to government grants, plan proponents would like to see the county "step up," as well, Glubka said.
Glubka said she hopes to bring the idea before the Solano County Board of Supervisors before next year's budget decisions are made, but it isn't yet known exactly when that will be, said Sutter spokesman Russell Neilson.
If funding is found, the clinic could be operational within a short time, Garcia said.
"It's totally contingent on bringing in funding partners, but we could pull this off within three months if funding is found," she said. "We're already looking at ancillary services like lab, pharmacy and X-ray."
Emergency room diversion is a growing phenomenon nationally, Garcia said.
"If we create a true medical home for those who now use the ER for primary care, we can reduce the cost and the severity of illnesses in a large number of people," she said.
• E-mail Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at RachelZ@thnewsnet.com or call 553-6824.
County Health Care Facts
• Between 2001 and 2005, the number of under- or uninsured patients increased nearly 15 percent, outpacing a 4.4 percent population increase.
• Between 2000 and 2006, emergency room visits per 1,000 county residents increased nearly 6 percent while emergency room visits dropped 4 percent statewide.
• Overall, between 2000 and 2006, the county saw a 13.1 percent increase in total emergency room visits, more than twice the statewide average.
• A significant portion of this increase comes from uninsured patients - 15.8 percent of all emergency room visits, compared to 7.7 percent of uninsured county population. Source: Terry Glubka, Sutter Solano Medical Center chief executive officer
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