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THE BATTALION Page 7
WEDNESDAY. AUGUST 29. 1979
United Press International
DALLAS — Medical Emergency Clinics, borrowing a bit from the
fest-food restaurant philosophy, are hoping to provide prompt, inex
pensive treatment of minor medical problems and at the same time
reduce the patient load at hospitals.
“People complain of waiting three to four hours in an emergency
room at a hospital,” said Layne L. Stinnett, MEC administrative
assistant. “Most of our patients have seen a registered nurse within 15
minutes and a physician within the next 15 minutes (of arriving).
“It’s hard to compare hamburgers to medicine, but we (MEC) have
auniversal logo, concept and consistent hours — like ordering fries,
vou know what you’re going to get.”
The doctors opened a clinic in Dallas one year ago, another one in
Houston in January and a third in Beaumont on Aug. 6. Two more
sites are under construction in Houston.
The clinics are located in shopping centers or buildings on main
thoroughfares and are geared to bridge the gap between the private
physician’s office and the hospital, Stinnett said.
Dr. David Wyatt, a full-time physician at the Dallas clinic, said
iere is a need for the group’s service and it has been recognized.
“It’s good-old-fashioned free enterprise,” he said. “It’s the only
way we can decrease the cost of medical services to the consumer.
Were physicians first. Anyone who comes to our clinic with some
thing wrong, we take care of their problem first — before we discuss
money.”
Stinnett said the cost at the Medical Emergency Clinics is about
one-half to two-thirds of the cost for treatment at traditional hospital
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United Press International
SALTILLO, Mexico — Gov. Bill
^ ements, in his third meeting this,
th with a Mexican border state
emor, has agreed to embark on
to-face discussions about the
oblem of undocumented Mexican
niters, who he claims number
tee million in Texas alone.
Clements said his talks with
Gov. Oscar Flores Tapia
jaday were the most intense and
orough he has had with a Mexican
ivemor.
Flores Tapia and Clements met
lately for more than an hour and
so agreed to appoint binational
Binittees to study and share in-
on agriculture, education,
te prevention and culture,
apia Flores immediately an
iseed his appointees to four of the
ittees and said he and Cle-
nts would work as a “committee of
on the undocumented alien
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Ihad the most in-depth and
derstanding discussion of the un-
ramented alien problem with him
stlhave had with any of the Mexi-
Dgovemors,” Clements said. “He
eitas a problem that relates to his
xple.
He's perfectly willing for them to
tover (to the United States) and
ik, and wants them to get paid a
k*age and have advantage of local
vices. But he wants them
amented. He realizes it’s axioma-
that the other things are not going
bedone as long as they are illegal. ”
The Texas governor toured a chil
dren’s hospital and a public works
projects and exchanged gifts with his
Mexican counterpart during the trip
to Saltillo, the first for a Texas chief
executive in 15 years.
“I think our relationship with
Mexico has moved to a new plateau.
We have a sense of relationship that
has not existed before,” he said.
Clements said his office has been
in communication with the U.S.
State Department concerning his
meetings with the Mexican gover
nors and said, “In the final analysis,
the undocumented worker or
documented worker ultimately has
to be a function of the federal gov
ernment, the State Department.”
His visits with the Mexican gover
nors, Clements contends, could in
fluence federal decisions concerning
illegal aliens.
“I don’t see how anyone can say
Texas, with three million illegal
aliens, should not have a voice in this
problem,” he said.
Clements praised the abilities of
Flores Tapia and the other two Mex
ican governors with whom he has
met, telling reporters, “We are not
dealing with a bunch of ribbon
clerks.”
The governor is scheduled to go to
Chihuahua later in the fall, and two
of the Mexican governors plan to
visit the Texas capital in October. A
third will visit when the Legislature
is in regular session — sometime in
1981.
emergency rooms because the clinics don't have to contend with the
high overhead costs of a hospital.
The clinics are aimed at a type of treatment rather than a particular
socio-economic group. In Houston hospitals, 80 percent of the people
who go to emergency rooms could be treated at another center for the
same problem, Stinnett said.
“What we don’t want is longtime follow-up care, ” Stinnett said. He
said if someone falls off a ladder and hurts his back and needs several
months of treatment the responsibility should go to a family physi
cian.
The doctors treat minor emergencies, like minor fractured arms or
sore throats or a high temperature on a Saturday. But the doctors will
also take care of a major emergency until paramedics arrive or the
patient can be transferred to a hospital.
At least one full-time physician, a registered nurse and a lab tech
nician are on duty 14 hours a day, seven days a week and the clinics
are open on holidays. Patients do not need an appointment, Stinnett
said.
“The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has ruled that it’s legal for
medicine to advertise, but it’s hard for us to let the public know,”
Stinnett said. “We have not embarked on an advertising campaign
because the medical society says it’s unethical — but it’s OK to
advertise without soliciting patients.”
The clinics distribute brochures to their patients, but nursing
specialists, who do community service work, provide their main
source of promotion, Stinnett said.
Class of ’83: You are invited to
Freshman Fun Nite
Friday/August 31
7 p.m.
First Baptist Church/Bryan
Texas Avenue at 27th Street
Special Student Worship Service: Sundays at 8:30 a.m
Touch Calling available in most areas.
Empress—Rotary and Touch Calling.
Chestphone — not available in Rotary.
HIS&HERS
His, an elegantly carved chest with a hidden treas
ure. Hers, a flowery phone from the past that keeps
right on blooming. Both, designed for the eye as well
as the ear.
If youVe interested in a more unusual way of
talking, try the GTE Phone Mart. Where you can pick
up a Chestphone, an Empress phone or any other
phone and take it home with you. The Chestphone
can be hidden under a clipper ship or surrounded in
brown suede. And there are also two versions of the
Empress phone—deluxe and standard.
WeVe got lots of other styles and colors for him,
her, them and yourself. And you can see them all at
the GTE Phone Mart. Where beauty is in the ear of
the beholder
PHane
maRT
Culpepper Plaza