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Reopening of Norwalk Regional Health
Center
Good morning. It is a great pleasure to join you here today.
I want to start by calling everyone’s attention to a statistic
relevant to today’s dedication. 27,000 people currently living in
Norwalk are living without health insurance. That’s 27-thousand
people in a city of just over 100-thousand people. These are people
that until this clinic reopened had virtually no low-cost or free
health options within their community. 27,000 people that had
to travel great distances to receive the basic health services that
many of us take for granted.
Today – we are giving
the gift of hope to many of these thousands of people who have not
had access to these services. In the late 1500’s, William
Shakespeare wrote – “often the poor have no other medicine but
hope.”
Over 400 years later – the same is still true today. Hope is what
the health center is all about. Giving hope is what we are, in
essence giving today.
When we cut the ribbon on this Health center, we are opening it to
those who need it most – the members of this community who have
nowhere else to turn. For the first time in years and from here on
out – this health center will be doing the work of healing the sick
– the work this center was intended for. I know the reopening of
this health center did not magically happen overnight. It is the
result of long meetings, difficult planning and a lot of hard work.
Many people were involved in creating it and today we wish to thank
those people without whom, this dream would have never become a
reality.
I especially want recognize JWCH and its Executive Director, Al
Ballesteros (pronounced BUY-ES-TARE-OS).
Without the commitment and dedication of JWCH and Al to serving the
needs of this community we would not be here today.Not only are they
reopening the Health Center for primary care services, they have
created a pilot project for delivering comprehensive health care
that should be a model for the rest of the County to follow.
JWCH has formed a unique partnership with non-profit agencies
serving this region that are funded by various County departments.
Together, they offer
each patient that enters into any one of our facilities in this
region access to multiple services, such as:
- Services to children with disabilities;
- Services for battered women and their children;
- HIV Counseling and Testing;
- Alcohol and Drug Abuse prevention and treatment;
- Mental health counseling and treatment services for children and
adults; and,
- And a variety of social service programs for adults and seniors.
There are several other individuals and groups involved for
financially supporting this endeavor that I want to thank:
- LA Care;
- Kaiser Permanente;
- The Community Clinic Association; and,
- Department of Health Services.
This is not just any
other building. It is one that means a lot to all those who have
lobbied unceasingly for it. It is one for which there has long
been a need in Norwalk. It is one that will mean a lot to those who
are taken ill in this community. This health center will fill a
great need in this area.
I am proud of this
accomplishment and I am certain that it will offer services and
treatment second to none. I think we can all truly say that here at
the Norwalk clinic – our health is in good hands.
Thanks. God Bless America
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