The doctor is in. At last. This Thursday, a small group of patients will inaugurate Puente’s new “Pescadero Clinic” – a converted meeting room inside a portable, now home to an exam table and some limited medical equipment. Puente has started scheduling patients for 30-minute time slots on Thursday nights from 5-7 p.m. A doctor, a nurse, and a medical assistant from San Mateo County’s Coastside Clinic will staff the clinic each week, with the help of a Patient Services Assistance support staff person. Puente will coordinate the clinic and help provide transportation for people without cars. The new clinic, a pilot project, is a co-initiative of Puente and the San Mateo County Health System. Its funding source is Measure A, a county sales tax that passed in November 2012. It may expand based on how well it works for local patients. For now, the clinic is equipped for primary care services, such as blood draws for lab testing, physical exams and vaccinations. After years of watching too many South Coast residents put off their doctor’s visits (and end up in the emergency room months down the line), Puente believes that having a doctor in the neighborhood will save lives, in the literal sense. For example, the first five patients seen at the clinic have untreated diabetes and other chronic … Continue reading The doctor will see you now: “Pescadero Clinic” comes to Puente