Nipomo Health Center – Primary Care

This clinic treats the following conditions, among others.

• Allergies: Allergies occur when your body's defense system (immune system) overreacts to certain substances. The immune system treats a harmless substance as if it were a harmful germ or virus. Many things can make this happen. These include pollens, medicine, food, dust, animal dander, and mold.
• Genetic conditions: Genetic conditions are diseases that can be passed from parents to children. Some conditions may be inherited if only one parent has the changed gene, while others can be inherited only if both parents have the changed gene.
• Obesity: Obesity is having an excess amount of body fat for your height. It raises your risk for serious health problems. These include type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, sleep apnea, some types of cancer, and stroke. Obesity can be treated. This often involves a long-term plan for lifestyle changes. But lifestyle changes may not be enough for everyone. In those cases, medicine or surgery is sometimes used.
• Headaches: Most types of headaches usually aren't dangerous. Some headaches may occur again and again, such as: Tension headaches. These are the most common type of headache. They are often caused by stress and emotional strain. Most adults have tension headaches from time to time, and everyone may have different areas of pain. Cluster headaches. Migraine headaches.
• Diabetes: Diabetes is a condition in which sugar stays in the blood instead of entering the body's cells, where it can be used for energy. This results in high blood sugar. Over time, high blood sugar can harm many parts of the body. The most common types of diabetes are type 1 and type 2.
• Dizziness: Dizziness, or lightheadedness, is a feeling of unsteadiness. Dizziness can lead to feeling faint or to fainting (brief loss of consciousness). Dizziness can be caused by many things, including stress and/or certain medicines. Dizziness often goes away or improves after lying down. If it does not, it may be linked with conditions related to the inner ear or brain function.
• Cough: A cough is your body's response to something that bothers your throat or airways. Many things can cause a cough. You might cough because of a cold or the flu, bronchitis, or asthma. Smoking, postnasal drip, allergies, and stomach acid that backs up into your throat also can cause coughs.
• Asthma: Asthma makes it hard for you to breathe. During an asthma attack, the airways swell and narrow. Severe asthma attacks can be dangerous, but you can usually prevent them. Controlling asthma and treating symptoms before they get bad can help you avoid bad attacks. You may also avoid future trips to the doctor.
• Cold: Colds are the most common infection of the nose, sinuses, or throat (upper respiratory infection). Colds are caused by viruses. They're spread by coughs, sneezes, and close contact. You can catch a cold at any time of year, but they're more common in late winter and early spring. There's no cure for colds.
• Fainting: When you faint, or pass out, you lose consciousness for a short time. A brief drop in blood flow to the brain often causes it. When you fall or lie down, more blood flows to your brain and you regain consciousness.
• Flu: Influenza (flu) is an infection, caused by a virus, that makes you feel very sick, often with fever, headache, body aches, and coughing. People often use the term "flu" to describe a cold or a stomach virus. But influenza isn't a stomach problem (although some little children may have vomiting and diarrhea). And it usually feels much worse than a cold.
• Insomnia: Insomnia (also called insomnia disorder) means not being able to sleep well. Insomnia may make it hard for you to get to sleep, stay asleep, or sleep as long as you need to. It can affect your daily life. Short-term insomnia may last a few days or weeks. Chronic insomnia lasts 3 months or longer. 

This clinic performs the following procedures, among others.

• Blood pressure screening: A blood pressure monitor is used to screen for high blood pressure. Ablood pressure cuffis wrapped around your upper arm. The cuff is then pumped up. The cuff is slowly deflated, and the monitor shows your blood pressure numbers. The numbers will be in a normal or high range.
• Diabetes tests and checkups: See your doctor for regular checkups to help you avoid problems. Checkups may include blood pressure tests, eye exams, foot exams, kidney tests, dental exams, and cholesterol tests. If you smoke, talk to your doctor about ways to quit. Stay up to date on your COVID-19 vaccines. And get a flu vaccine every year.
• Ear exam: An ear exam is a thorough check of the ears. It is done to screen for ear problems, such as hearing loss, ear pain, discharge, lumps, or objects in the ear. An ear exam can find problems in the ear canal, eardrum, and middle ear. These problems may include infection, too much earwax, or an object like a bean or a bead.
• Physical exam: During a physical exam, a health professional looks at, listens to, and touches or gently presses on (palpates) the body. This exam helps the health professional determine the cause of symptoms, what other conditions may be present, and what medical tests may be needed.

Pacific Central Coast Health Centers contracts with most health insurance plans, including Medi-Cal, and provides health care services that fit your health plan benefits. If you have questions about the health insurance plans we accept, contact the office where you would like to be seen and our staff would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

• Aetna
• Blue Cross
  
• Blue Shield
• CenCal
• Cigna
• Coventry – First Health
• Health Net
  
• Healthsmart – Interplan
• Medi-Cal
  
• Medicare
• Multiplan – Beech Street
• Networks by Design
• Tricare
• TriWest
• United Healthcare
  
• Western Growers