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HOW HEALTH CARE CLINICS ANSWERED THE CALL
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Livestyles B10 A Look Back on 20 Years at Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital B12 Ways to Cut Costs During Retirement SCV BUSINESS VOICES B4 Audiology Associates B12 SCV Economic
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Samuel Dixon Family Health Center CEO Philip Soloman, left, stands beside CMO Dr. Samuel Dixon III and other office staff in their Newhall location. April 19, 2021. BOBBY BLOCK / THE SIGNAL. BY EMILY ALVARENGA Signal Staff Writer
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hile the pandemic shuttered countless businesses, others in the health care industry saw
an influx. As hospitals faced an unprecedented surge, most urgent care centers and health care clinics across the Santa Clarita Valley also saw an uptick in patients. In addition to the large-scale health care centers, the SCV is home to a number of smaller clinics, all of whom have spent the last year rolling with the waves of the pandemic. SAMUEL DIXON FAMILY HEALTH CENTER The Samuel Dixon Family Health Center celebrated its 40th anniversary doing what it’s done for 40 years: finding ways to treat patients safely — only now, in the midst of a pandemic. “Our biggest thing was to support our patients that had ongoing illnesses,” said Dr. Samuel Dixon III, the center’s chief medical officer. “We spent a lot of time adapting.” The center quickly adapted to the telehealth model, finding ways to treat most of its patients virtually, while also adapting to changes in public health guidance, Dixon explained. Through the use of the PPP loan, as well as other local and state grants and resources and funding from the federal government, the clinic was able to continue pre-pandemic operations and maintain staffing levels to continue the same level of care. Now more than a year later, the center
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is continuing to do a vast majority of its appointments virtually, with only a third coming in for in-person visits. While Dixon expects in-person visits to continue picking up, he said telehealth is going to be great to add to the center’s repertoire of services, as it allows patients more flexibility with scheduling doctor’s visits. “What the pandemic has forced us to do is really adapt how we deliver care, and internally, how we operate, so as we come out of the pandemic, this is really the norm of how we’re going to do business,” added Philip Solomon, the center’s CEO. “For some, it’s very convenient, and for our providers, if it’s a good way to provide the care, then we’re going to continue with that.” EXER URGENT CARE At Exer Urgent Care, CEO Rob Mahan said it’s been quite an adventure of a year, as its centers have seen a 400% increase in daily visits during the pandemic. “We had quite a surge in terms of our demand, which just that by itself produces its own challenges and opportunities for us to try to figure out how to modify our processes,” Mahan said, adding that it also resulted in the hiring of 400 additional employees. Because Exer’s centers are staffed with trained emergency room doctors, this, along with its diagnostic equipment, allowed them to offer an alternative to ER visits during the height of the surge. But as with other health centers, many of Exer’s innovations came through the use of telemedicine and other technological advancements, such as a virtual queue
that was helpful during the surge, as it allowed patients to wait at home until it was their turn to be seen. What would’ve typically taken six months or a year to get ramped up, was up and running in a matter of weeks due to the nature of the pandemic — which didn’t come without its challenges — yet, overall, the outcome was positive and something Mahan believes will be part of the long-term solution. “It’s not a replacement, it’s a compliment to the services that are already being provided,” Mahan said of telehealth. “For certain patients, even post-pandemic, it’s going to make a lot of sense.” HENRY MAYO NEWHALL URGENT CARE At the onset of the pandemic, Henry Mayo Newhall Urgent Care had a 60%75% decrease in patients, according to Angie Luna, the center’s supervisor. “There was a very, very prevalent fear of being out in public, and all the more, at the thought of venturing into a medical facility, so it just wasn’t being done, and unavoidably, numbers dipped drastically,” Luna said. However, there was soon a bounce back, due, in part, to COVID-19 testing availability onsite, as well as to the overflow of patients who were unable to get appointments with their primary care providers because their medical groups were downsizing their own operations, Luna added. As the pandemic has progressed, it’s COVID-19 testing that has continued at an increased rate, as athletes, employees See URGENT CARE, page B11
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