It was 20 years ago when members of the Wichita community bought bricks, made donations and tracked the fund raising efforts with hopes of opening a health clinic in Northeast Wichita that could help address the disproportionate rates of illnesses affecting members of the community. It was the vision of Arneatha Martin and Bud Gates, but the community bought in.
Many of you were there when the ribbon was cut on what we thought was a dream come true. Instead of dark shadowy clinics where individuals were made to feel less than, Northeast Wichita finally had a state of the art facility where individuals would receive quality care with the respect they deserved.
However, for those who believed our dreams had come true, their vision was too small. Few among us would have dreamed of the new facility that will open in Northeast Wichita this fall. The new 40,000Sq. ft. expansion of HealthCore Clinic on east 21st Street in Wichita dwarfs the original facility that opened in 1998.
What can Wichitans expect to find in the new facility when it opens this fall?
The new facility four story facility – three floors above ground and a basement – will include 33 exam rooms, 11 mental health rooms, a seven chair dental clinic and a discount pharmacy with special federally approved discount pricing.”
The main entry for the new facility will move to the northwest corner of the new expanded facility, which will have a beautiful two story glass opening onto 21st Street along with a two story lobby with an overlook from the second floor. The bottom, or basement, level of the new facility will house an international clinic. This clinic will be staffed with interpreters who speak six different languages. Also on the bottom level will be a small gym for patients and staff.
“We’re holding off on saying it’s for the community,” says Davna Gould, HealthCore director of communications. “It’s not huge, but it will include exercise bikes, treadmills and children’s equipment, so they can work out along with their parents.”
Also on the lower level will be a bathroom’s with showers (great for after workout use), a training/large group meeting room, and a break room for the clinic’s staff.
In addition to the main reception area, the main floor will feature a women’s clinic, behavioral health area and a children’s clinic. HealthCore has been offering mental health services since 2013 and view it as an integral part of their program to deliver their patients integrated and comprehensive medical services.
The second floor will house the center’s dental clinic and a pharmacy. The pharmacy is a federally designated 340B Pharmacy, which requires pharmaceutical companies to provide the clinic front-end discounts on covered outpatient drugs. The program is designed to help stretch the federal funding provided clinics that serve the most vulnerable patients, but the discounted prices can be passed on to anyone who purchases items covered under the agreement.
The third floor of the clinic will house the clinics administrative staff.
The original facility will remain open with the existing exam rooms connected to the new facility through two openings. The existing entry and lobby on the east side of the clinic will remain open as an entry into the clinic. Parking, an ongoing issue will the old clinic, will hopefully be addressed by the addition of new parking on the west side of the facility and an employee parking lot on the south side of the clinic.
It all adds up to a fairly miraculous growth and expansion for the clinic that struggled financially early on. However, things improved for the clinic in 2006 when it received its designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center. This designation opened up the clinic to higher reimbursement rates under Medicaid and to additional federal funding. That designation came under former director Bev White, but hats off to Teresa Lovelady, who took over the center’s helm in 2011. Under her leadership, the center has thrived and expanded, and the community will reap the benefits when the new facility, which was beyond our dreams two decades ago, opens in the core of our community.
HealthCore Accepts KanCare/Medicaire, Medicaid, and private insurance.