Facing a major re-organization to upgrade its services to our area, the People’s Clinic is looking to increase its community ties as well as expand its services. To do it, a “Community Health Council” is being formed, for which nominations are being taken now.
The purpose of this Council, which will have 15 members, is, basically, to guide the direction of the People’s Clinic and to insure its responsiveness to this area. The Council will make general policy decisions, examine community health needs and propose priorities and special programs. It’s most important function perhaps, will be to provide continuous reliable input of both community and professional opinion of the clinic’s operation.
So the Council will be a rather important part of the Clinic Heirarchy. Below it will be the Board of Directors, elected within the clinic, who determine practical application of policy, procedure, hiring and firing, and planning of goals outlined from the Council. The Administrator, hired by the Board, helps co-ordinate the actual activities and oversees the Clinic’s operation. Thus the Council will be the top of the organizational chart.
Seven of the Council members are the Board, and therefore come from the clinic workers. But the other eight will be community people (your neighbors, whether or not they work at the clinic), and health professionals. These community members will be elected by the area’s residents and clinic workers during the first week of December. They will begin serving with their first monthly meeting in January 1975.
Right now, we are sincerely looking for nominations of people to serve on the council. Anyone can nominate someone. The nominees’ willingness and qualifications will be checked by the clinic office staff and a full list of nominees will appear in the next issue of “The Paper”, as well as at other places in the area.
Obviously, we are looking for people who are willing and wanting to help and who you would trust in providing sincere input. If you want your point of view represented at the Clinic and can’t think of anyone to do it, – nominate yourself. The nomination blank below should be turned in to the clinic or mailed in by Nov. 13th. Telephoned nominations to the clinic during office hours (9 to 5, Mon. thru Fri.) are welcomed. Please do not pass this by.
The time committment for Council members will be minimal, one meeting a month required. The Clinic has been providing health care at no cost to this community for over two years now, and is just beginning to come to grips with the problems we all feel. Developing programs which serve our needs is clearly going to depend on the level of participation we can show. Otherwise, other persons with their own ideas will dominate our health care accessability.
The Clinic is expanding and improving, and it will become as important a part of our community as we want it to be.
RETURN TO PEOPLE’S CLINIC, 6010 KINGSBURY by Nov. 13.
Speaking of the Clinic expanding its services, as noted in the last Paper, an older adult program is being formed right now to address some of the many needs of the older persons living in our area. The program is reaching in two directions of overlooked services.
The first of these is to increase the availability of health care services to this group of people. the lack of accessible care has been a subject of concern among residents of this area for at least four years. Except for the People’s Clinic and two private practices there exists in this area a literal dearth of primary health service, particularly for the aged.
The second Clinic development will be toward developing programs and space to help with the day to day problems which occur as people get older. Transportation, a space and way to get together with others, these are needs expressed by a recently completed survey run by the Clinic. While these programs are merely plans or ideas now, they are probably the more important aspect of health care: the social environment and preventive aspects of health.
So the People’s Clinic will be expanding its services, hopefully to include a day session very soon. We will increase a liason with other institutions to be able to provide a better depth of care, and develop our speaking system.
Our efforts to obtain a bus for transportation to the clinic have been very successful to this point and while an actual committment has not been made, some arrangement will be worked out with one of the buses we have been talking to people about.
The Clinic is open as usual for medical services Mon., Weds., and Thurs. evening from 6:30 till 8:30. Our phone number is 721-5577 if you would like to call during the day with any question.
Originally published in The Paper, November 1974.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1974_11.pdf, printed page(s) 2; PDF page(s) 2.
