Franklin Community Center, a clinic in the heart of the Eastside neighborhood of Santa Barbara, reopened with great fanfare on 10/30. The $1.14 million renovation-with the county, city, and other sources pitching in for the costs-increased the number of exam rooms from three to eight and included new flooring and lighting. With the county home to the second highest number of uninsured children in the state, 75 percent of the visitors to the clinic are from the local neighborhood and receive urgent and pediatric care.
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The largest flu clinic ever held in Santa Barbara County took place at the Elks Lodge in Lompoc on 10/23. The Santa Barbara Public Health Department sponsored the clinic partially as an emergency preparedness exercise to test the county’s response time should a public health disaster occur. In all, 2,026 people were vaccinated at an average of 11 minutes per person according to a computer-based time study conducted.
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Cottage Hospital’s Eye Center will be renamed the Stewart and Louisa MacDougall Eye Center in honor of the Montecito couple’s $5 million donation. The endowment was part of the Campaign to Rebuild Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, an effort to acquire $700 million in contributions to pay for building maintenance, repair, and new technology. The MacDougalls specifically gave to the Eye Center after Louisa’s vision was preserved by Cottage doctor Stuart Winthrop.