The Chamber of Commerce has released this statement from the board of Coastside Family Medical Center that answers a number of questions the community has been asking about the closure of the center.
The Board of CFMC would like to take this opportunity to clear up some misconceptions.
The Board of CFMC greatly regrets having to close the clinic and wishes that we could have done more to make the transition less painful for both the patients and staff. We are very grateful to the staff that has worked so hard over the years and in this difficult time to provide the best health care possible to Coastside residents. We’re also very appreciative of community members who jumped in and tried to provide positive assistance for those who needed immediate help.
Why did you have to close the clinic?
One reason: no more money to fund the shortfall. The financial history is well known to most. The clinic was founded when Stanford University, after experiencing a $1.5m annual loss, abruptly closed the doors in 2001. A group of us rallied and formed a non-profit 50( c)3 to run the clinic as it always had been designed serving the insured, uninsured, and underinsured. We experienced a $600,000 loss the first year and had a loss of at least $400,000 each year thereafter.
How did you keep it open so long?
We relied on our fundraisers, grants, foundations, and personal contributions. All of the board were contributors to the clinic. Stanford Hospital and Mills Peninsula were generous. A small number of individual donors were extraordinarily generous. The lobby displayed a giving tree and donation box for all those who could contribute and be recognized. Numerous articles were run over the years in the Review pertaining to CFMC’s non-profit status and the challenges of contributions. Every year we sent an appeal to our entire list of past donors and new prospects. Our last annual appeal in November only brought in $18,000 and grant and foundation funding all but dried up in this economy. The clinic ran a $50,000 monthly loss, $70,000 if we had paid the county our rent. The board has always worked on a volunteer basis and the dollar equivalent of the professional work contributed by the board was immense. This was money we did not have to spend.
More answers, including why the community was not informed until the center closed, after the jump.