By Logan Hendrix
The Rockbridge Area Free Clinic started becoming known as the Rockbridge Area Health Center about a year ago. After being closed in February, it is now open again. It’s still the Rockbridge Area Health Center, but now it has extended hours, more services and rooms for more patients.
The center will provide new and better services to the 7,000 uninsured in Rockbridge and Alleghany counties as well as the insured for a low cost to patients.
The change was made possible in part because of a $650,000 federal grant, which covers employee salaries, equipment and services. The health center must come up with $250,000 on its own for construction and additions. Funds will be raised through a capital campaign.
Development Director Katy Datz said there have been a few glitches with the health center’s new phone system and transition to electronic health records, but operations have generally been smooth.
“We’ve seen a lot of patients,” said Datz. “We are now able to accept insurance including Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance and so that’s really exciting for us as an organization to be able to meet the needs of the underserved in our area.”
The health center plans to add four new medical exam rooms, which Datz said will double the number of patients it can serve within the first year. Other new elements of the health center will include a medical lab and a dental lab.
“Part of the reason for needing construction is as a free clinic we really were providing very limited services on specific days of the week and utilizing volunteers,” said Datz.
“At a community health center, we will have full-time medical doctors and full-time visits and so we’re already seeing a larger number of patients which means we need to be able to have a better-flow throughout the building.”
Renovations are expected to be complete in mid-April. Other federally qualified health centers in the area are located in Roanoke, Harrisonburg and Nelson County, but City Manager Jon Ellestad said having a health center in the Rockbridge area is an important component of the community.
“I think we’re reasonably well served, but I think it has tremendous potential to step in and fill the void of care with the Affordable Care Act particularly for lower income people,” Ellestad said.
Those who are uninsured or underinsured may enroll in a health insurance program within the Marketplace, a federal exchange to compare and shop for a particular insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act. “It’s certainly one way that we will meet the needs of the community,” said Datz. A group of volunteers has already helped more than 350 people navigate and sign up for insurance.
“There’s a financial assistance program that anyone can go through insured or uninsured. So we will continue to see people with and without insurance here at the health center,” said Datz.