Emphasizing the vital role county health clinics play as a medical care “safety net” for thousands of Santa Barbara County residents, health officials will be conducting public tours Thursday of clinics in Santa Maria and Lompoc.

The free tours are being offered at 11:30 a.m. at the Santa Maria clinic, 2115 S. Centerpointe Parkway, and at noon at the Lompoc clinic, 301 N. R Street.

The informational tours - also being offered this week at South Coast clinics - coincide with National Health Center Week 2007. Nationwide, community health centers are “the family doctor” to 16 million people, providing primary care and preventative health services even to those without insurance and who are unable to pay.

Locally, county clinics from Carpinteria to Santa Maria provide a wide range of care to about 29,000 people annually, collectively logging more than 100,000 “patient visits,” Public Health Department officials said.

Conditions commonly cared for range from colds and flu to treatment of diabetes, high blood pressure and infectious diseases. Most clinics also provide “urgent care” services, from treating bladder infections to stitching up cuts.

Specialized care, such as neurology, surgery, obstetrics, and gynecology, are also offered at some county clinics, including one in Santa Maria.

“All of our clinics provide basic, primary care,” said public health spokeswoman Michelle Mickiewicz.

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Patients who arrive with serious conditions, when needed, are referred to an area hospital for specialized care and then return to the clinics for follow-up treatment, she said.

“What we're interested in is people having access to care,” regardless of income or insurance status, noted Assistant Public Health Director Elizabeth Snyder. “That contributes to people's long-term health” and can prevent medical conditions from becoming more serious without early treatment

“We don't turn people away for inability to pay for services,” Mickiewicz said. Medi-Cal and Medicare clients are accepted at the clinics, she said, but not people who have private medical insurance.

For patients who aren't qualified for Medi-Cal or Medicare, “we work out payment plans” on a sliding scale according to their ability to pay.

“I think one of the misconceptions is that people who come to our clinics don't have to pay,” she said. They do, but usually not the full cost of that care.

Dr. Elliot Schulman, county public health director, stressed that no one should hesitate to use those clinics because of worries about cost.

“Everyone should have a health care home where they can go to address their basic health care needs, be it a common cold or diabetes management,” he said. “Access to affordable health care through a health center is the best and most effective way to fight disease, reduce unmet medical needs, and lower health care costs.”

The “specialty clinic” on Centerpointe Parkway in Santa Maria provides basic care and well as acute and preventive services including internal medicine, dermatology, pediatrics, immunizations and nutrition services. More information about that clinic is available by calling Linda Perry at 346-8412.

Another clinic in Santa Maria, at 220 S. Palisade Drive, Suite 104, specializes in women's care, including obstetrics, gynecology and family planning.

The Lompoc clinic, one of the county's busiest, focuses on primary care while also offering acute and preventative services, including internal medicine, obstetrics, family planning, and nutrition services. A pharmacy is also now available at that clinic. For more information contact Lou Ellen Scott at 681-5423.

Additional details about the clinics, the services they offer, and locations are also available online at: www.sbcphd.org/clinics/

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Chuck Schultz can be reached at 925-2691, Ext. 2241, or cschultz@lompocrecord.com.

August 6, 2007