Bailey, the executive director of Mountainlands Community Health Center, had tears in his eyes Wednesday afternoon as he thanked all of the people who had played a role in the new clinic on South State Street, which is set to officially open on Monday. Bailey and other community leaders cut the ribbon shortly after the power came back on in the building.
Community Health Connect and the Volunteer Care Clinic also will be in the building along with the health clinic.
Provo Mayor John Curtis and County Commissioner Steve White spoke along with Bailey. Curtis pointed out that the Provo-Orem area was recently honored for its well-being as well as for its volunteerism rates. These clinics are a symbol of those community values.
"That so represents all of this here today," he said.
White said he was grateful the county didn't have to run a general hospital like many other counties did; that is because of healthcare opportunities like Mountainlands that serve low-income and uninsured people, he said.
The county still owns the building; Mountainlands is renting it at the same price as the last building but got about 50 percent more space. The clinic's old building is being demolished to make way for a convention center in downtown Provo.
Bailey said more than 100,000 Utah County residents don't have insurance or are on Medicaid; the clinic serves about 12 percent of them. With this facility, they could serve many more, he said.
That number may seem small, he said, but without that clinic, those 12,000 people might not be getting care at all.
"We're a small pebble, but we make ripples," he said.
This new facility allows Mountainlands to more efficiently partner with Community Health Connect and the Volunteer Care Clinic. Community Health Connect coordinates the efforts of more than 200 doctors and dentists who are willing to provide charity care; the medical care they put together is valued at about $1 million annually.
The Volunteer Care Clinic, which until now has been housed in the health department on Tuesday and Thursday nights, is a clinic for acute health situations. It is staffed by volunteers and has had 22,000 patient visits since 2004.
Bailey said by putting all three resources into one building, coordinating those efforts will be easier. After volunteer doctors diagnose a condition, the patient can return to the same building for continuing care at the health clinic.
"We're right next door," he said. "They can refer to us, and we can take over that care."
Heidi Toth - Daily Herald
