Medical clinic in park gets nod from county

A proposed medical clinic for uninsured patients that has stirred hostile opposition from some neighbors received a go-ahead from Clark County commissioners Tuesday.

The county will lease a building in Paradise Park to a volunteer group of doctors for one year and impose a limit of 6,000 patients who can visit the clinic in that year.

After that, the county will review the clinic to see how well it fits into the neighborhood.

Commission Chairman Rory Reid said it was a way to serve the needs of low-income patients while allaying the fears of residents who live near the site at Eastern and Tropicana avenues.

"I need to try and find a balance," Reid said. "We need to protect the neighborhood and allow some version of this to go forward."

The 5,000-square-foot clinic will have 10 examination rooms and will share a site with a dental clinic. Dr. Florence Jameson, who founded the volunteer group, said she was relieved because the deadline looms for using $200,000 that the Legislature approved for renovating the site.

The Hilton Foundation gave $80,000 for the remodeling, and other donors chipped in the remaining $120,000 needed for the work, Jameson said.

She cited the group's mantra: "A well person has a thousand wishes; a sick person has one wish."

Reid noted that he'd received 137 e-mails from people in favor of the clinic and 135 e-mails from those who opposed it. At the meeting, proponents and critics stood in separate lines to testify.

Most critics said they supported the clinic's mission to offer medical care to the uninsured, just not in a park near their homes. A few argued that the clinic would lower their property values and attract homeless people to the park.

"Location, location, location," resident Al Gundy said.

But as residents fretted about a diminished quality of life, one man talked about how the clinic could save a life.

"This is about humanity and the right to live," said Billy Williams, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Williams said he was fortunate to have gotten a medical plan before the tumor was discovered. But those with no insurance, he said, must rely on this type of clinic to survive.

Lenny Talarico, an opponent, seemed somewhat placated.

"We'll continue to support this but we'll definitely keep our eyes on the project," he said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.