South LA Intersection Renamed in Honor of Doctor

The South Los Angeles intersection of Central Street and 27th Avenue was dedicated Thursday in honor of Dr. Basset Brown, the founding provider of health care services for the under-served in the area. The intersection, which is located in front of The Central Neighborhood Health Foundation, will officially be called Dr. Basset H. Brown Square.

Brown is CEO of the foundation and has worked with its clinic, which provides health care to those who are those with low incomes and uninsured, since 1967.

The clinic dealt with extreme financial problems when Brown first came to work there. To keep it from closing, Brown acquired its assets. With the help of legislation authored by then Senator Mervyn M. Dynally, Brown was able to stabilize the clinic and  introduce new services, such as lab services and x-rays.

In 1970, Brown set plans to build a more modern 9,000-square foot building, financing 50 percent of the costs himself.

Through the years, Brown continued to advance services for the area's dominatly black and Latino residents. The clinic grew to have 10 full-time primary care doctors providing health care to residents of the area.

At its peak in the 1970's, the clinic provided services to over 300 patients every day with more than 100 health care personnel employed. Today, the clinic attends to over 12,000 patients a year.