The Simi Valley Free Clinic first opened its doors on March 1, 1971 on Deodora Street. The clinic recently celebrated its 40th anniversary. Photo courtesy of Fred Bauermeister Fueled by the idealism of the ’60s and the desire to meet the needs of a young but growing community, the Free Clinic of Simi Valley opened its doors on March 1, 1971.

Back then it was housed on Deodora Street, in a space donated by the school district. At the time, there were no local public health services—all county health services were 45 miles away. So the Free Clinic filled in the gap, offering medical and counseling services to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay.

On March 2, the first medical day, the clinic saw its first patients. There was no official staff, but 15 to 20 volunteers showed up that night to care for eight people.

Forty years later, many things have changed. Today, the clinic is at 2060 Tapo St.—where it moved in 1973—and has a staff of five and a cadre of 175 dedicated volunteers.

YEARS OF SERVICE—The Free Clinic of Simi Valley celebrated the 40th anniversary of its March 1, 1971 opening with a cocktail reception at Lost Canyons Golf Club on Tuesday. The Free Clinic Team includes, from left, Citlali Maldonado, Olga Lafflitto, Fred Bauermeister, Lupita Gonzalez and Adriana Trujillo. BILL SPARKES/Acorn Newspapers Now the clinic sees an average of 60 clients a day and served a record total of 14,779 in 2010.

In addition to medical and counseling services, the clinic offers legal aid, dental services and chiropractic care. The clinic also maintains a licensed pharmacy and partners with Simi Valley Hospital to provide laboratory tests and with Kaiser Permanente’s residency program.

Executive Director Fred Bauermeister has been with the clinic every step of the way. Friend and clinic board member Kurt Fredrickson said that in 1971 Bauermeister was an art major in college. But when he heard about the clinic he thought it was something he could get behind—“good people helping other people.”

Bauermeister didn’t really plan to stay 40 years, yet he couldn’t walk away. He’s “the heart and soul” of the Free Clinic, Fredrickson said.

Despite all the changes and growth, the clinic’s mission has remained unchanged.

“The vision that started 40 years ago is the vision that carries on today,” Fredrickson said.

Fulfilling the mission hasn’t always been easy. When asked what the biggest change has been, Bauermeister says the patients are sicker and there’s more of them. They need more medicine, more testing and more follow up.

“It’s a different world now,” he said. “ Because of the economy, people are without health insurance or access to medical care, so we are more needed now than in 1971.”

The clinic relies on money from private foundations, businesses, service organizations and individuals. Over the years the clinic has often struggled to keep going.

Drumming up donations and winning grants is difficult in this economy, said Simi resident Curt Witeby, who sits on the clinic’s board of directors. But that doesn’t stop people from flooding in the doors.

“It’s never big enough. The resources are never enough to help everybody, and that’s the part that breaks your heart,” Witeby said.

Board president Maggie Kestly said she’s been at board meetings looking at financial statements that show only two months of operating income left. Those are scary times, but the clinic always manages to pull through.

“We sit around a table trying to figure out . . . how to continue to provide care,” Kestly said. “And what is always amazing to me is that, thankfully, something or someone always comes through.”

Bauermeister said one of those lifesavers was a young lady named Carol. Every week or two, Carol would come in with a basket of fruit that she’d put in the waiting room for patients to enjoy.

At one point, the clinic was going through a particularly rough patch, just a few weeks away from closing.

“Out of the clear blue, in walked Carol without a basket of fruit but with a check for $ 3,000,” Bauermeister said. “That was one of many amazing moments.”

So while the need is great and unending, it is those “amazing moments” that volunteers say make the work they do worthwhile.

“You’re helping your fellow human being. It’s the essence of medicine at the Free Clinic,” said Jonathan Kurohara, the clinic’s medical director since 1987.

In his 24 years at the clinic, Kurohara has seen all kinds, from the types people might expect, such as the chronically homeless and drug addicts, to people who have simply fallen on hard times, like bankers and accountants.

“We all know the pitfalls of the healthcare system today. As patients fall through the cracks in our healthcare system, the Free Clinic is like the last safety net,” said Kurohara, who lives in Thousand Oaks and has a practice in Simi.

For some patients the cases are complex and ongoing. For others, staying healthy is as simple— but as important—as getting a refill of their thyroid medication.

“You always leave there feeling good, that you made a difference that day,” Kurohara said.

Adriana Trujillo, clinic administrator and nurse, knows the feeling.

She fell in love with the clinic when she began volunteering there nine years ago. The work is emotional and exhausting, she said, but also rewarding.

“By the time they’ve come to us, they’re sick, they’re in pain. They’ve been turned away from everywhere. They are desperate,” Trujillo said.

“The joy comes from being able to help alleviate some of that pain. They walk out knowing that someone cares.”

Though Trujillo had a job at Kaiser in Woodland Hills, the Simi resident decided a few years ago to follow her passion and focus solely on her work at the clinic.

“The thought of not being there was painful,” she said. “Every dime and every amount of energy is to serve people in need, and that to me is what medicine is all about.”