Orrville officials met with Rural Health leaders last week to plan the opening of a new clinic ahead of construction of a new building.
In a public meeting at Orrville Town Hall on Sept. 5, Rural Health Medical Program CEO Keshee Smith said a one- or two-room clinic with a ramp for wheelchair patients could be staffed by a nurse practitioner specializing in family medicine. The clinic could offer mental and behavioral health, telehealth and a lab. Specialty services could be rotated in as needed.
The clinic would have no waiting room, but Smith said Rural Health learned during COVID how to maintain patient flow without one.
If enough patients use the clinic, a larger permanent clinic could be built, Smith said.
“What we are trying to do is gauge from the community what services are immediate, how many people will support a clinic within the city limits and who will come that are not residents of Orrville,” Smith said. “That will help us build a unit specific to the health services that are needed and the size of the patient population that will come.”
Some residents at the meeting said they were concerned that the temporary clinic would become the permanent clinic, and they wanted Orrville to have more services.
Dozier-Smith said Rural Health asked Mayor Louvenia Lumpkin and the city council to decide their level of support for a larger community clinic by the end of the year to give time for public input.
“Before any business comes to a community, they do a needs assessment,” Smith said. “They want to hear from the community what you need, and then they determine how to make that happen. The goal is to have a facility that is unique to what is needed in this particular town.”
Smith said if the Orrville clinic has enough patients, UAB might place a doctor at the clinic through their Doc on the Spot program. Services could be expanded to include dentistry, optometry and podiatry, she said. “What (UAB is) mostly interested in is creating healthier lifestyle resources for small communities, such as Orrville,” Smith said.
Another idea that has been discussed is opening a community clinic in the school. The provider and nurse with Rural Health could support the school’s on-site nurse and guidance counselor.
Orrville officials met with Rural Health leaders last week to plan the opening of a new clinic ahead of construction of a new building.
In a public meeting at Orrville Town Hall on Sept. 5, Rural Health Medical Program CEO Keshee Smith said a one- or two-room clinic with a ramp for wheelchair patients could be staffed by a nurse practitioner specializing in family medicine. The clinic could offer mental and behavioral health, telehealth and a lab. Specialty services could be rotated in as needed.
The clinic would have no waiting room, but Smith said Rural Health learned during COVID how to maintain patient flow without one.
If enough patients use the clinic, a larger permanent clinic could be built,Smith said.
“What we are trying to do is gauge from the community what services are immediate, how many people will support a clinic within the city limits and who will come that are not residents of Orrville,” Smith said.“That will help us build a unit specific to the health services that are needed and the size of the patient population that will come.”
Some residents at the meeting said they were concerned that the temporary clinic would become the permanent clinic, and they wanted Orrville to have more services.
Dozier-Smith said Rural Health asked Mayor Louvenia Lumpkin and the city council to decide their level of support for a larger community clinic by the end of the year to give time for public input.
“Before any business comes to a community, they do a needs assessment,” Smith said. “They want to hear from the community what you need, and then they determine how to make that happen. The goal is to have a facility that is unique to what is needed in this particular town.”
Smith said if the Orrville clinic has enough patients, UAB might place a doctor at the clinic through their Doc on the Spot program. Services could be expanded to include dentistry, optometry and podiatry, she said. “What (UAB is) mostly interested in is creating healthier lifestyle resources for small communities, such as Orrville,” Smith said.
Another idea that has been discussed is opening a community clinic in the school. The provider and nurse with Rural Health could support the school’s on-site nurse and guidance counselor.
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