Budget crunch closes Hildale health clinic
 
The Associated Press
 
HILDALE -- Because of budget troubles, a public clinic that assists pregnant women and young children has closed after 15 years of service.

Funded by the federal Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, Southwest Utah Public Health Department's WIC Clinic offered grocery vouchers, dietary supplements and nutritional education to low-income women who are pregnant or breast feeding and children younger than 5.

Counting utilities and rental costs, the closure will save the department at least $14,000 a year. Operations at the Hildale office accounted for $750,000 of the Southwest Public Health Department's $3.9 million budget, said Gary Edwards, the department's director.

In January, the Hildale clinic assisted 1,021 residents from Hildale and Colorado City, Ariz., a 30 percent increase from the average client load in 1998, said Pat Thomas, the department's nursing director. In comparison, the St. George clinic served 2,223 clients in January, an 8 percent increase from five years ago.

The closest clinics for Hildale residents are in St. George -- about 40 miles away -- or LaVerkin -- about 25 miles away.

Under an interstate agreement, the Arizona office also has Utah clients, though in smaller numbers.

Most of Hildale's 2,000 residents belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which still teaches polygamy as a central doctrine. Through a trust, the church controls most of the land and property in the border towns of Hildale and Colorado City.

On Jan. 10, Warren Jeffs, the reclusive prophet of the FLDS church, expelled 21 men, including Joseph Barlow Sr., Hildale's councilman of 41 years, and Dan Barlow, Colorado City's mayor of 19 years.

The decision to close the Hildale clinic had nothing to do with the turmoil within the FLDS Church, Edwards said.
 
The Associated Press
Originally published March 1, 2004
 
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