Extending quality care

Editorial

The health clinic at the Lyon Park Community Family Life and Recreation Center is open for business -- and business is good. Since opening a year ago this month, more than 1,000 people -- many of them Hispanic immigrants -- have walked through the door seeking medical care.

A satellite of the venerable Lincoln Community Health Center, the Lyon Park clinic has been a welcome addition. Don't believe us? Just ask anyone who has tried to get speedy medical care at Lincoln, where it can take hours simply to be seen.

The Lincoln Center isn't capable of handling the large number of patients seeking care. The center often receives up to 300 calls for service before 10 a.m. And last year, Lincoln saw 35,000 different patients, 82 percent of them below the poverty line.

The number of people seeking free or affordable health care will continue to rise if the economy stays sluggish, employment figures remain stagnant, and Durham's Hispanic population continues to grow.

Officials say two-thirds of the clinic's patients have no insurance. They pay $10 to $50 per visit on a sliding scale. The beauty is that no one is turned away, even if they're unable to pay anything for the visit.

Located on Halley Street in Durham's West End community, the Lyon Park clinic has already eased the pressure on Lincoln by giving low-income residents an attractive alternative.

Hispanics have found the clinic especially welcoming because of its bilingual physician's assistant, Diane Davis. About 60 percent of the patients seen at Lyon Park are Hispanic.

Duke University's Division of Community Health is helping fund the clinic as part of the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership. It's another example of Duke's outreach to the community beyond the campus.

Durham has long been known as the City of Medicine. This partnership reinforces the community's emphasis on extending quality health care to all citizens.

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