LA Department of Health Services to acquire Skid Row UCLA health clinic
A UCLA School of Nursing clinic on Skid Row will be taken over by the County of Los Angeles, officials decided Tuesday. The county hopes to serve 4,000 underserved patients a year with the clinic. (Tanmay Shankar/Assistant Photo editor)
By Hyeyoon (Alyssa) Choi
Jan. 10, 2020 12:47 a.m.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services will be taking over operations of a UCLA School of Nursing Clinic on Skid Row, the LA County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday.
The clinic is currently being operated in partnership with Union Rescue Mission, a nonprofit organization working to support people experiencing homelessness in Downtown LA.
The decision occurred following news that the grant previously used to fund the clinic will no longer be allotted. As a result, UCLA would be unable to continue its operations at the site.
The UCLA School of Nursing Health Clinic at URM, which was established in 1983, operates full-time, offering free health services to an average of over 6,000 patients per year.
Students at the School of Nursing previously had the opportunity to work at the clinic and gain experience, according to the school’s website.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas proposed in his motion to the Board of Supervisors that the LA County DHS acquire the clinic at no cost and continue to provide medical services to only about 4,000 patients annually. This would be a reduction from the 6,000 that the clinic currently serves.
Under the agreement, the clinic, including all medical equipment, furniture, supplies and certain medical records, will be transferred to county authority.
Operations are expected to be funded by Medi-Cal Managed Care, Medicare and other DHS funding sources, according to the board motion.
