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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, December 9, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 31, 2004 Aurora Hoyle, a registered nurse at Community Health Center in White City, unpacks supplies for one of the exam rooms in the center�s new 10,000-square-foot building. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Community Health Center moves in smooth operation By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune A medical clinic moves into a new home just like a family — one piece at a time. Except there’s a whole lot more stuff. When the Community Health Center moved Friday to its new home in White City, staff pitched in to pack all the equipment and medical supplies at the old clinic and unpack at the new 10,000- square-foot clinic. "There’s an art to it," said Aurora Hoyle, a nurse from Eagle Point, as she stocked new patient exam rooms with disposable paper gowns. The $2 million clinic, which opens Monday at 8385 Division Road, will have 10 patient exam rooms — more than twice as many as the old clinic, which closed Friday. It also has a counseling office, a separate waiting room for pregnant women and a meeting room that will be used for health-related classes. "It’s an exciting time," said Hoyle, who started work at the White City clinic just a month ago. "Our other nurses have waited years for this. It’s nice to see this growth here when there are so many cuts (in health care) in so many other places." Advertisement Community Health Center treats low-income patients and people who lack health insurance at clinics in Ashland and Medford, as well as White City. Last year the three clinics handled about 24,000 patient visits and served about 7,600 people. The White City clinic accounted for 7,000 of those visits and 2,100 patients, figures that are expected to double during the next two years. Nurses were all smiles as they bustled through their new digs with carts loaded with sample drugs, boxes of tongue depressors, bandages and every kind of medical paraphernalia. "We were really limited in the number of patients we could see" at the old clinic, said nurse Debbie Gillaspie of Central Point. Gillaspie proudly showed a visitor large, well-lit patient rooms, a waiting room with a view of Mount McLoughlin and a nurse’s station "big enough to have a barn dance." "To be limited by lack of space was the worst limitation," said Katy Cowan, a nurse at Community Health Center for 17 years. "It’s amazing how far we’ve come." The big new building will allow patients who need a specialist’s care to be treated in White City instead of traveling to Medford, Gillaspie said. "We have people who come down from Prospect and Shady Cove and the whole Upper Rogue," she said. "Transportation is a huge issue for many of our patients." Cowan said the new building’s bright and cheerful space will make some patients feel better about themselves. "It makes them feel more legitimate," she said. "I’ve heard some talk about how they can’t afford to see a ‘regular’ doctor." The new clinic opens just days after CHC learned it would receive $650,000 from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to expand its services to about 3,500 new patients. The new building and the influx of federal money will not solve all of Southern Oregon’s health care problems, however. Peg Crowley, CHC director, said about 30,000 to 35,000 Jackson County residents have no health insurance at any given time, and an additional 25,000 to 30,000 people are underinsured. That means nearly one in three of the county’s 190,000 residents have no health insurance or minimal insurance that requires them to spend more than 10 percent of their income on medical expenses. Money for the new building came from a number of grants and donations. A Community Development Block Grant from Jackson County provided $585,000, or 29 percent of the total funding. Foundation grants supplied 28 percent; grants from Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development accounted for 3 percent; and a fund-raising campaign provided 40 percent. "We’ve had amazing community support," Gillaspie said. "If it weren’t for their support we wouldn’t have this building." Reach reporter Bill Kettlerat 776-4492 or by e-mail at: [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities