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Show Paroivan meets Clinic issue not solved PAROWAN Just about everyone among the 100 people in attendance at last week's public meeting on the Valley View Medical Center's Parowan Clinic appears to be fighting on the same side of the issue. The problem providing on-going medical services for the Parowan area however, hasn't been solved. The meeting on the situation was called alter the WMC indicated last month that unless the Parowan Clinic, being housed on the second floor of the Iron County Courthouse, began to pay its own way by September, the WMC would have to consider withdrawing its support of the operation. The clinic currently costs WMC about $ $3,500 per month in subsidization, sub-sidization, according to Mark Dalley, assistant administrator at the Valley View Medical Center in Cedar City. "The board has not voted yet to withdraw with-draw support," Dalley emphasized. "It has simply indicated that it may have to consider withdrawing support under certain conditions." Dalley indicated that all the WMC wants is a "break-even operation." Dr. Paul Neilsen, the physician who has been working at the clinic for four hours each Tuesday afternoon and each Thursday morning, strongly emphasized em-phasized that he plans to practice in the Parowan-Cedar City area permanently. per-manently. John Rex, president of the Parowan Chamber of Commerce, which sponsored spon-sored the public meeting, said that he likes "being treated medically by people in the community: neighbors and people we know." "It doesn't ring true," Rex said, "for people to spend the amount of time and money and energy we do to drive to another community for medical service." ser-vice." Rex said that the community should plan to deliberate as a community-tor community-tor 30 days and then meet again to chart a course of action. The clinic has been in operation since June of 1981, but it wasn't until April that Dr. Neilsen began spending time at the facility. Prior to Dr. Neilsen's arrival, .the clinic was staffed by Physician's Assistant Scott Hail, a licensed practical nurse and a receptionist. recep-tionist. Currently the clinic is open five days a week, with Hail working Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; and Dr. Neilsen working Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning shifts. Dr. Neilsen has contracted with the WMC lor a six-month period to work lour hours each of two days each week at the Parowan Clinic. He receives a set amount for his services, and that amount is not affected by whether or not the clinic shows a profit or loss. Parowan area citizens have shown a marked preference to see Dr. Neilsen, rather that a physician's assistant, although only praise was offered at the public meeting for the services of Hail. It was reported at the meeting that Dr. Neilsen sees between 20 and 30 patients per day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, an average of only about five patients per day are treated at the clinic. "A patient load (on a five-day basis) of 16 of 20 patients per day would allow Dr. Neilsen to start full-time coverage here next week," Watson Adams told those at the meeting. Dr. Neilsen indicated, in response to a question, that he has a commitment to a number of patients he is seeing in Cedar City; he cannot, he said, just drop them for a full-time Parowan practice. "Those commitments to Cedar City patients were made before I became involved with the Parowan Clinic, and I feel an obligation to those people," he said. The overwhelming preference of the people at the meeting was for Dr. Neilsen to offer full-time coverage for Parowan. Many thought that Hail could also continue to work in the clinic, that the workload could support both, if the community supported the service. Although accurate figures are not available, Parowan area residents apparently seek primary medical services at three sites: Beaver, the Parowan Clinic and Cedar City. |