May 2007

As part of PAMF's commitment to bring health care closer to where patients live and work, PAMF opened its newest clinic location in Dublin in March. The 60,000-square-foot Dublin Center, located at the corner of Dublin Boulevard and Tassajara Road, is the city's largest medical facility and will help meet the health care needs of patients in the Tri-Valley area.

Eight physicians and a nurse practitioner provide a variety of services, including family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, and urgent care. Additional medical specialties will be added as needed.

The Dublin Center will also offer laboratory and X-ray services, as well as a Community Health Resource Center (CHRC), which offers reliable health information for all stages of life, including information on a specific diagnosis or procedure, health and wellness topics, and more.

"PAMF already has many patients in this area," said Paul DeChant, M.D., president of PAMF-Palomares. "We want to offer our patients the high-quality care they have come to expect from PAMF, but within their own communities."

The Dublin Center will feature all of the latest technology available at PAMF's other clinic locations, including an electronic health record (EHR) system and access to PAMF's e-health service, PAMFOnline; digital imaging services; and same-day and next-day appointments with primary care physicians. Like PAMF Castro Valley Primary Care, the Dublin Center will operate under a unique model of patient-centered care that allows patients to spend more quality time with their health care providers and less time waiting.

When a patient arrives at the clinic for an appointment, a medical assistant (M.A.) or nurse greets the patient and immediately escorts him or her to an exam room. Then, the M.A. takes the patient's medical history and updates his or her EHR. The M.A. continually checks in with the physician and remains with the patient until the physician arrives. While the physician examines and treats the patient, the M.A. records the appointment in the patient's EHR along with any lab work, X-rays or prescriptions the physician orders for the patient.

"Each patient at the Dublin Center will benefit from a personal, attentive approach to health care," said Dr. DeChant. "We designed the Dublin Center with the needs of patients and providers in mind. The open design and layout places physicians close to support staff, which fosters open communication and teamwork, and translates into a better working environment, as well as better care for the patient."

The PAMF Dublin Center is part of PAMF-Palomares, which was developed to meet the growing health care needs of PAMF's patients in the Tri-Valley area, including Dublin, Livermore and San Ramon, as well as Castro Valley and San Leandro. The Center is open Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.