Two months ago Incline resident Erica Flores gave birth to twin girls, Kasandra and Marie.

Last week the twins, both premature but otherwise healthy babies, taken to Incline's Children's Cabinet clinic in the Centerpointe Building for a check-up.

Flores was a familiar face to Children's Cabinet staff who saw her often as a prenatal patient prior to the twins' birth.

Flores said she went to the clinic for prenatal care because the only other clinic she could afford was in Reno.

Since Flores shares a vehicle with several other family members, staying local was her only option.

Flores is one among some 95 local patients who have utilized the Children's Cabinet prenatal care program since its inception in January of 2004.

"We started the clinic because low- income women up here do not have regular access to obstetrician and gynecological services," said Health Clinic Manager Pam Straley.

Leora Sapir, a health nurse practitioner at the clinic for more than 10 years, said clinic staff have always been concerned about the availability of prenatal care services offered in the North Tahoe area.

"It was always a problem. A lot of people would not get (any prenatal care) and then would just end up at the hospital ready to deliver," Sapir said.

Both Sapir and Straley said prenatal care is an important part of working to identifying high-risk pregnancies early on.

"If (pregnant women) come to us and are uninsured or under-insured they can come to our clinic and we can see them on a monthly basis for the first 28 weeks of gestation," Straley said.

The prenatal care program is funded exclusively by grants from the March of Dimes, a national nonprofit organization devoted to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects.

"Ultimately prevention services are a lot cheaper ," said Sapir. "We are providing people with a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby so they become a useful and productive part of society.

"When you don't have healthy people you don't have people that can be a productive part of society."