This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Marin Community Clinics' Greenbrae Clinic Relocating to Larkspur - More modern and accessible facility, centralized Call Center enhances patient care

Marin Community Clinics’ Greenbrae Clinic will move to a new location in Larkspur on July 14th - 15th.

The Greenbrae Clinic, which is currently located on the Marin General Hospital (MGH) campus, will move to 5 Bon Air Rd., Bldg. D, Suite 117, Larkspur.  5 Bon Air Rd. is a medical complex close to the MGH campus.  This Marin Community Clinics site will now be called the “Larkspur Clinic.” 

One of Marin Community Clinics’ four primary care clinics (including one in Novato and two in San Rafael), the Greenbrae Clinic has provided adult primary care and behavioral health services as well as selected physician specialty services.  All of Marin Community Clinics’ Greenbrae services will move to the Larkspur site. 

Find out what's happening in San Anselmo-Fairfaxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

New Larkspur location offers more accessible, modern facility

“We’re very excited.  This is a very positive development for our patients, who will have easier access to more modern healthcare facilities that are still close to MGH,” reported Linda Tavaszi, CEO.

Find out what's happening in San Anselmo-Fairfaxwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The new location will include more modern patient exam rooms, new equipment, a roomy reception area, and more efficient administrative space. It will be more accessible to patients who have needed to walk up a long hill to the Greenbrae site, has better parking, and will be closer to public transportation.

Patient Call Center services enhanced with move

The new Larkspur location will also house Marin Community Clinics’ new centralized Call Center. (Previously, each clinic site had its own call center capability; patients needed to call specific clinics to make appointments.) 

In the past, the individual clinic call centers were staffed by appointment coordinators. Now, the centralized Call Center will also be staffed by registered nurses who will make a real-time assessment (‘triaging”) with callers to determine the nature and urgency of their need and which type of provider they should see. 

“Our enhanced call center capability will help us do an even better job of getting the patient the right care at the right time,” said Tavaszi.

Necessary relocation a joint effort with MGH

According to Tavaszi, relocation is necessary because the current Greenbrae clinic, which has been housed in trailers at the top of a hill, no longer meets patient care needs.

“We have served patients in the Greenbrae location for over 25 years,” she reports, “but it is time to move on.  Our patients deserve more accessible and modern facilities. Also, Marin General, which is planning to build a new, seismically safe hospital, is planning to construct a parking garage at the trailer site.”

Collaboration with MGH

Over the past three years, Marin Community Clinics and MGH have closely collaborated to identify a new location.  

“In looking for a new location, both Marin Community Clinics and MGH wanted to find a new site that was close to the hospital.”

Tavaszi explained that the Greenbrae clinic treats many patients who go to MGH’s Emergency Department – patients who in fact do not need costly emergency care. The clinic also sees patients who have been recently discharged from MGH and who do not have a personal physician, but need follow up care or have a new medical diagnosis that needs treatment.  In addition, many of Marin Community Clinics’ physician specialists are on MGH’s medical staff and have offices close by. Many of the Greenbrae Clinic patients live close by as well.

After an extensive search, the Bon Air Road site was selected. 

“We have really appreciated MGH’s collaboration,” said Tavaszi. “MGH, whether managed by Sutter Health or the Marin Healthcare District, has been a long-time supporter of ours, including donating $1.36 million over the past six years to help us provide care to those who are under- and uninsured.”

Generous donor underwrites costs for new clinic location

Some renovation has been required to prepare the Bon Air location for MCC patient care, at a cost of close to $500,000. All of these costs, as well the move expenses, have been underwritten by a generous donor, underscoring Marin Community Clinics’ continuing need for – and success in obtaining - philanthropic support to help provide care to the under- and uninsured. 

“It was through a joint effort of MGH, the Health Council of Marin and the County of Marin that Marin Community Clinics, which was founded in 1972 by community volunteers, moved from church basements to the trailers on the MGH campus,” stated Tavaszi.

“In looking back to our origin, this move to a new clinic location typifies not just the growth, but the community support of Marin Community Clinics. Even with the advent of the Affordable Care Act and Covered California, there are still many Marin residents who don’t have any health insurance or are sorely underinsured, making community support of our Clinics a continuing need.”

Marin Community Clinics is a federally-qualified, not-for-profit community health center that provides adult and pediatric primary and specialty care as well as dental care to low-income Marin children, teens and adults and to enrollees in Covered California.  Marin County’s largest safety net provider, it serves over 32,000 individuals per year in its four medical clinics and two dental clinics.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from San Anselmo-Fairfax