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Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond
Center for Health and Wellness
The Jordan Valley Community Health Center is pursuing the development of a new primary care clinic in North Springfield. This newly constructed facility will provide 75,000 square feet of clinic space that will be part of an integrated system of care to the residents of our community.
Some of the proposed services will include comprehensive:
· Oral health services
· Behavioral health services
· Women’s health, including labor & delivery
· Women’s Infant & Children Program
· Urgent care center with expanded service hours
· Pharmacy
· Laboratory
· Routine X-ray
· Out patient surgery center
· Specialty care services
Since the inception of our program, we have worked at developing infrastructure that would allow us to treat patients in a fully integrated manner. This facility would allow for an expectant mother to receive prenatal and obstetrical care with routine follow-up including family planning counseling. Upon delivery of the new born, child health and nutritional services would be available and encouraged along with oral and behavioral health as well. Should the need arise to access care after normal hours, use of the urgent care center would be encouraged, rather than the more costly current norm of emergency rooms.
In order to best meet the needs of those in our community who lack appropriate healthcare, we would adopt the medical home model. This model is based on evidence that proves better health outcomes are achieved through preventative and primary care interventions and a comprehensive single point-of-service. One important asset provided through this type of facility is a standardized patient record that would allow us to monitor a patient’s complete health status throughout their life cycle. This comprehensive health record would enable us to provide intervention of preventative care and more appropriately tailor healthcare for our patients thereby reducing redundant services.
It is our desire to become the medical home for individuals within our community who lack adequate access to health care services. We anticipate that successful implementation of our program will improve the health outcomes of our patients, resulting in healthier lifestyles for them while reducing the cycle of dependency.
There would also be financial benefits to a medical home model which would include the reduction of hospital emergency room visits, less redundancy to care, and the benefits of healthier lifestyles. This model would also reduce dependency on social assistance programs and create an opportunity for individuals to participate in, and gain ownership of, their healthcare.
To date, our proposal has the support of the city of Springfield and Greene County. We are also in positive discussions with the tertiary health care institutions within our community.
Anticipated cost for the construction of the facility will be approximately $10 million and we hope to occupy the facility by the spring of 2008.