Dubbed the “Phoenix Project,” the new group expects to file non-profit paperwork in the coming weeks to begin raising money and investigating how to restore medical services to the Coastside.
The top of priority for the new group is ensuring former patients have their medical charts. Dr. Grant Weiss, director of the new group, says he expects to have about 20 volunteers ready to copy and send out medical records by the end of this week, assuming the effort gets approval from the clinic board of directors. Local donors and charities have stepped forward to cover the costs of photocopying and sending out approximately 3,800 records, according to Weiss.
  
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Attended by about 70 people, the Thursday evening meeting was set to move forward toward creating new medical resources. However, much of the meeting was spent mired in unresolved problems stemming from the Coastside medical center closure more than six weeks ago.
About 8,000 patients were left scrambling for new health care after the downtown medical center abruptly closed last month after years of service. Fortunate patients have found new physicians and obtained copies of their medical records, but numerous Coastsiders are believed to be lacking new health providers and their old records.
Citing irreconcilable financial problems, Board President Everett Ascher expects to file for bankruptcy as soon as today. When that happens, responsibility for medical records will transfer to a court-appointed trustee.
Several public speakers at the meeting last week said they had trouble obtaining their medical records from the closed clinic. One speaker, Edward Dee, said his family couldn’t see the results of a biopsy performed on his wife just before the closure.
“We didn’t find out till yesterday that my wife’s biopsy showed signs of cancer,” he said. “Who else is out there? … We have to have some assurance that someone is looking at this stuff.”
Former medical director Dr. Dan McMillan said the clinic now had only two part-time employees working on transferring medical records and lacked funds to continue making copies.
Mike Laffen, financial officer for the board of the closed medical center, spoke briefly at the beginning of the meeting and listed off numerous organizations and individuals that have voiced support for a new medical clinic for the Coastside.
“There’s a whole lot of organizations that are willing to back whatever we can come up with,” Laffen said. “They will put resources forward so long as we can get on the same page.”
Mayor John Muller and representatives from County Supervisor Rich Gordon and state Sen. Leland Yee were in attendance, but made few comments about any future medical center. A Spanish translator was on hand, but wasn’t needed as everyone in attendance spoke English. Service providers fear Spanish-speakers formerly served by the clinic are at risk of becoming medically underserved.
Five former doctors from the shuttered medical center also attended the meeting and fielded questions from the public. Drs. McMillan, Jill Pavliscak and Vanessa Oppenlander said they plan to open a private clinic in Half Moon Bay by June 1. Drs. Lorraine Page and Erica Peterson said they hoped to continue practicing medicine on the Coastside, but had no immediate plans.
Weiss and other organizers said they are just beginning to coordinate efforts for a new clinic and say they would need dozens of volunteers to help with accounting, research, fundraising, language translation and other services.
The new group expects to launch a Web page soon to organize outreach and volunteer efforts. For now, any Coastside residents interested in volunteering are encouraged to contact Weiss at (650) 787-8005 or grantweiss@sbcglobal.net.
The Phoenix Project will next meet on May 6 at the Coastside Lutheran Church.
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