Federal grant seeks to improve access to care
By Jason Arndt
Staff Writer
According to Mary Coffey, executive director, the Kenosha Community Health Center helped 21,000 uninsured or underserved Kenosha County residents in 2015.
Of the 21,000, nearly a fifth is made up of Western Kenosha County residents who need to drive deep into the City of Kenosha for access to services.
However, a recent $1 million federal grant and a vacant Silver Lake property may be able to change that, she said.
“Nineteen percent of patients that we serve now in Kenosha drive from this area,” said Coffey, who estimates a 45-minute commute. “So we are hoping to get access to this area closer to them.”
The Health Infrastructure Investment Program grant, awarded to KCHC in May, and a property vacated by Westosha Veterinary Hospital on Second Street in Silver Lake creates a facility. Program organizers plan to open the clinic at the end of 2017.
Prior to serving as a veterinary hospital, the facility served as an Aurora medical clinic.
Pieces fell into place
According to Coffey, finding a property in Western Kenosha County had been a mission of KCHC for about a year. The organization sought help from the Sharing Center in Trevor.
Sharing Center Director Sharon Pomaville, who felt the need on a personal level, said a community health center fills a crucial need for residents.
“As a single parent for many years, and since becoming the director here, I know the need first hand for accessible and affordable health care in western Kenosha County,” Pomaville stated.
Pomaville sought insight from a Sharing Center board member, who is a real estate agent and, in turn, led to the discovery of the Silver Lake property.
The property was a perfect match, Pomaville said.
“(It) fit two of my most critical pieces for best service – (it’s) on a bus line, and in the middle of three of the most highest populated areas,” Pomaville stated. “The former medical clinic was perfect. It all came together to easily.”
Preliminary plans include a behavioral health unit, a room for sterilization of equipment, an employee cafeteria and dental labs in the basement.
On the second floor, plans call for medical exam rooms, an accessible dental exam room, along with waiting and staffing areas.
However, plans could change, depending on architect reviews, Coffey added.
Conditions of the grant include completion of the project within three years and local approval.
“It’s for renovations and construction,” Coffey said. “It is not for operations, it is renovating and getting the equipment we need.”
Coffey notes that along with the Village of Silver Lake, 16 other agencies drafted letters supporting the project, including the Kenosha County Division of Health, Aurora Memorial Hospital in Burlington, and the office of County Executive Jim Kreuser and the Sharing Center.
Efforts underway in Silver Lake
The project faces a winding road, including the cleanup of the former clinic, and federal reviews.
Federal reviews are environmental studies, including assessment of potential asbestos and other harmful materials, however, considering the facility’s history, the site has received positive feedback.
“We had to have a number of environmental reviews. The federal government requires environmental studies,” Coffey stated. “All of them came back favorably.”
Following approval, KCHC will assess equipment needs, including exam tables, waiting area chairs, laboratory equipment and furniture.
“Most of the equipment will be new,” she said. “There are some things that we have at our other facility that we will be bringing over.”
More breathing room
With services arriving in Western Kenosha County, it will not reduce resources within Kenosha City limits, Coffey stated.
“That will open up vacancies in the other buildings for Kenosha city residents,” she stated.
The Silver Lake clinic reaffirms the community health center’s primary mission.
“Part of it being a community health center, our primary mission is access to care, because you want to get service closer to them.”
Better access is good for both local residents and KCHC, Pomaville said.
“I want to thank the KCHC for being so sensitive to the needs here in the western part of the county,” Pomaville said. “What a win for families and better health in Kenosha County.”