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BROOKSVILLE - After putting off
visits to the doctor most of the poor and uninsured end up in
emergency rooms for care. By then, a minor health problem has
often mushroomed into a much bigger and expensive one.
In Hernando, state and county health
officials hope to curb that trend with the Nature Coast Community
Health Center.
On Friday, the county Health
Department officially celebrated the Brooksville health center's
opening with a visit from state surgeon general Ana M. Viamonte Ros.
With the center's addition of a
reduced-cost pharmacy and prenatal care, along with more staff, the
final phase of a project that began in 2005 with the award of a
competitive federal grant is now complete. And that means more
health care access for more of the working poor and uninsured.
"County health departments and
community health centers are the last stop for many people,"
Viamonte Ros said. "In some counties, the uninsured comprise 60 to
70 percent of the clientele. Unless places like this exist, in
the end it's a much higher cost to all of us."
In 2005, the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services awarded Hernando a $1.95-million grant to
expand clinic services, at $650,000 a year for three years.
The county Health Department was
identified as catering to medically underserved areas, which span
from the Brooksville area to northwestern Hernando County.
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The shortage of primary care physicians,
higher incidences of chronic illness such as diabetes and heart
disease, and a high percentage of families living below 200 percent
of the poverty level helped the county win the grant. Hernando
was one of the 22 organizations nationwide to receive an award.
More than $63-million went toward the
goal of bringing medical care closer to the estimated 632,000 people
who receive primary care services. Before, the closest clinic of its
type available to Hernando residents was in Dade City.
Hernando residents make up a growing
number of uninsured in the state; more than 17 percent of
non-elderly residents have no insurance.
More than 20 percent of the state
population has no health insurance, more than any other state except
Texas and New Mexico, according to the Census Bureau. In all,
47-million Americans had no health insurance last year, including
8.7 million children.
Those numbers coincide with growing
poverty rates among children in Hernando, now at 22 percent,
according to the Census Bureau.
At Nature Coast, families who earn
200 percent of the federal poverty level - up to $41,300 for a
family of four - are eligible for lower rates. Those who make
more can still become regular clients, but won't be charged on the
same basis.
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In addition to medical and
pharmaceutical services, residents will have access to mental health
care and dental care at the new center. The center also has
increased preventative services, such as counseling on diet,
smoking, drinking and drug use.
Since it first received money in
December 2005, the department has transformed its headquarters on S
Main Street in Brooksville into more of a client -based stop for
health care.
Quaint examination
rooms with pastel-painted walls and sections for outpatient services
now occupy the facility. There's also a communicable diseases room,
equipped with a reverse-flow air system and ultraviolet light for
those who may have diseases such as tuberculosis.
The environmental health, vital
statistics and administrative services wings of the Health
Department have moved to the county Airport Industrial Park at 15470
Flight Path Drive.
Chief executive officer Elizabeth
Callaghan said she looks forward to bringing much-needed health
services to the county through the health center.
"Our vision is a healthy Hernando,"
Callaghan said. "And the Nature Coast Community Health Center is a
very important part of that."
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