News

Encinitas Physicians Host Healthcare Forum with Congressman Bilbray

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

ENCINITAS, Calif. - August 13, 2009 - The Center for Surgery of Encinitas hosted a Physician’s Healthcare Forum last Thursday, August 6, to discuss directly with Congressman Brian Bilbray the pending healthcare legislation and the import role that outpatient medicine plays in the delivery of quality healthcare. The discussion was held at North Coast Health Center, the largest outpatient medical center in coastal North County. More than 25 physicians participated in the conversation with Congressman Bilbray in an effort to voice perspectives from the “front line” of healthcare delivery.

"North Coast Health Center is a good example of the kind of facility that we need more of because it is able to provide the services at the most cost-effective level,” stated Congressman Bilbray. “It’s not only a convenient, but an essential component in the future of healthcare."

Richard Lavacot, M.D., with the Center for Surgery of Encinitas, explained, 'We’re very pleased that the Congressman has cooperated with the physicians that are interested in the chance to speak with him. This is my view of democracy at its finest because there is pending legislation of healthcare reform… and we’re going to see the constituents of the 50th congressional district get to talk to their representative in Congress. From a doctor’s perspective, we bring a lot to the table, so we ought to get some influence during the time when the laws are being written. We feel like the outpatient industry itself and outpatient loci like North Coast Health Center are not just the beginning, but they’re the middle and will continue on to the end."

Greg Petree, president of AmeriCare Medical Properties, Inc., added, "North Coast Health Center was an ideal venue for this type of forum, as the outpatient campus was developed in partnership with local physicians and has been part of the coastal North County community for more than 20 years. Outpatient health centers like North Coast Health Center aggregate multiple healthcare specialties in one location creating enormous patient convenience while, at the same time, enabling cutting-edge technology to be extended deeper into the community. We’re pleased to have the opportunity to provide our physicians, community leaders and local residents with the venue for education and discussion on such an important issue."

In addition to the Congressman Bilbray and the doctors, other local constituents in attendance for the Healthcare Forum included Encinitas Mayor Maggie Houlihan, Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas CEO Carl Etter, Encinitas Chamber of Commerce CEO Marshall Weinreb, and more than 20 North County residents.

The discussion with Congressman Bilbray was videotaped and segments will be posted within the week to http://www.NorthCoastHealthCenter.com/video/. The new website was recently launched by North Coast Health Center to help aggregate information about its more than 150 physicians into one easily searchable online portal for the community. The online directory enables patients to search by doctor, group or specialty.