Remodel increases Kings Beach clinic’s capacity

The Placer County community clinic in Kings Beach, a valuable medical resource for low-income patients, was recently remodeled and can now serve more patients, offer more services simultaneously and provide additional patient privacy.

Placer County supervisors took a tour through the renovated clinic on Monday. They walked through a new exam room, an added procedure room and an expanded reception area with two check-in windows and a nurses lab.

“It’s beautiful,” said District 5 Supervisor Bruce Kranz. “It seems the employees are pretty happy. It’s nice to work in a facility that’s clean and nice.”

The clinic was redesigned to increase efficiency, said Shannon Rosal, the clinic’s administrative supervisor. And the clinic’s fresh paint gives the building a new feel.

“People associate the way a place looks with the quality of care,” Rosal said. “And finally, this place reflects the quality of care — which has always been high. The building was just worn out.”

With an additional exam room, the clinic can increase the number of patients it sees by 25 percent, Rosal said. Last year, the clinic provided dental and medical services to more than 3,500 clients.

“We feel valued with [Placer County] putting the money into this [clinic],” Rosal said.

The $250,000 remodel broke ground in October 2007. Construction was completed at the beginning of January, and staff has since been settling into their new space, Rosal said.

The remodel also wired the building for computers for electronic health records, brought the building’s entrances up to Americans with Disabilities Act standards and replaced worn flooring.

The project was funded by revenue Placer County’s community clinics, said Chief Physician and Medical Director Alex Klistoff.

“We were able to come ahead at the end of the fiscal year, and said we needed to do some work,” Klistoff said. “And Tahoe was No. 1 on our list.”

From immunization shots, primary care, dental services to family planning and mental health resources, the Kings Beach clinic offers valuable services to the community.

“We do everything,” Rosal said.

Most of the clinic’s patients are low-income and qualify for subsidized programs. The rest pay by a sliding-scale adjusted rate.

“We’re pretty much it when it comes to low-income and state-sponsored programs,” said Clinic Manager Bob Long.

With a new, larger facility, the clinic, open five days a week, will soon be looking to adjust their hours of operation to meet their patient’s needs better.

“We’re looking at being more convenient for the community,” Rosal said. “Because if the demand is there, then we want to try to accommodate it.”

Kings Beach Community Clinic, by the numbers • 4,300 medical visits to the Placer County clinic in Kings Beach in 2007. • 75 percent of patients fall below the Federal Poverty Level, which is a $21,200 gross annual income for a family of four. • The majority of patients are between the ages of 20 and 34. • 66 percent of patients are female • 5 percent annual increase in patient visits since the Kings Beach clinic opened 12 years ago.