By Patrick Anderson
Staff Writer
October 09, 2008 05:45 am Gloucester's new federally-approved community health clinic, open for a month in name only, is now welcoming patients. Since early September, when a ribbon cutting and invitation-only gala heralded the long-awaited creation of the Gloucester Family Health Center, the clinic on Washington Street, next to Addison Gilbert Hospital, sat silent awaiting a state license to operate medically. On Monday, the state Department of Public Health made its final visit and yesterday morning the clinic opened its doors to patients for the first time, although the staff spent most of its time calling residents who had been waiting for it to open and making appointments. "Everyone is shocked that we are really open," Lisa Schott, director of the behavioral health project at the clinic, said yesterday. "We were almost placing bets on when it would actually happen." In the planning for 10 years, the clinic was created to improve access to primary medical care on Cape Ann, which local leaders say has a scarcity of family physicians. Four of Gloucester's seven census tracts are considered "medically underserved" by the federal government. Local leaders have hailed the clinic as a way to provide medical services to the area's underinsured, who in many cases have used the emergency room at Addison Gilbert Hospital for routine services. Because it was built to federal standards, the clinic is eligible for the highest possible reimbursement rates from government insurance plans, will have malpractice insurance covering the whole facility, and receives lower rates for prescription drugs. Run by North Shore Community Health Inc., which operates similar health centers in Salem and Peabody, the Gloucester clinic accepts all kinds of insurance, including MassHealth and provides services on a sliding scale for those without insurance. "We appreciate the patience and continued support of the Gloucester and Cape Ann community as we have cleared this final hurdle," Dr. Robert Hendershott, CEO of North Shore Community Health, said in a statement. Two local doctors and a nurse practitioner will provide care from 12 exam rooms at the clinic, while financial counseling is available in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese — Gloucester's four primary cultural languages. Mental health services and counseling are being provided at the clinic by Health & Education Services, a division of Northeast Heath System, which owns Addison Gilbert Hospital and is leasing the clinic building to North Shore Community Health. The health center is not a walk-in clinic, although, in some circumstances, same-day services can be available, Schott said. Schott said hospital and health center staff had always intended to hold the open house and ribbon cutting before the actual opening of the clinic, so that visitors to the facility would not be walking around amid medical equipment and patient records. But they had anticipated that getting the license from the state would have come in the following week or so. Gloucester Public Health Director Jack Vondras, who has been providing support for the clinic from the city, said yesterday that the state licensing process may have been slowed by the demands of permitting dozens of "MinuteClinic" retail health care facilities inside CVS pharmacies across the state. Eventually, dental care will also be available at the Gloucester Family Health Center, but Vondras said he did not know yet from where the staff would come. "We haven't gotten to that point yet," Vondras said. "We are focusing not on doing these things quickly, but doing them right." Right now, those interested in dental care can register at the clinic and will be called to set up an appointment when the service opens. Patrick Anderson can be reached at panderson@gloucestertimes.com
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