Packard Medical Clinic Loses Revenue Share Funding

Among the myriad of worthy programs cut off by the city's allocation of federal revenue sharing money is the Packard Community Clinic, 3174 Packard Road.

Drawing much of its clientele from the cooperative housing developments in the area, the Packard Clinic has provided low cost, sliding scale medical care to poor and working class people since Sept. 1973. Presently the staff includes two physicians, a social worker, a nutritionist and a dentist.

Last year the Packard clinic split $30,000 in revenue sharing funds with Dr. Ed Pierce's Summit St. Medical Clinic, of which it is an off-shoot. This year there will be no money for either.

According to a Clinic spokeswoman, the chief casualty of the revenue loss will be subsidized referral services and the low-income people who depend on them.

The clinic will no longer be able to subsidize prescriptions for those people who need prescribed medicine but can't pay for it, nor will the clinic be able to pay for hospitalization of non-insured people, x-rays, or referrals to specialists.

The Summit Clinic expects to maintain its present level of services through private contributions but also plans to increase patient fees.