Martha Cook Carter, director of FamilyCare, speaks to the crowd at the grand opening for the nonprofit health group's newest center, in Eleanor.
ELEANOR, W.Va. -- Several months ago, a building off Roosevelt Boulevard, across from George Washington Middle School, was just a shell of what used to be a hardware store.
With hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal stimulus funds and a federal grant that U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito helped secure, the building has been transformed into a community health center devoted to helping families across Putnam County find health care -- regardless of their income or their insurance.
On Tuesday, the Eleanor FamilyCare held a dedication and grand opening at the new building. Organizers wanted to hold the event when the building actually opened on June 20, but decided against it since the Winfield Bridge was still under repair.
About 200 people showed up at Tuesday's event, where nurses provided free clinic services, including blood sugar, blood pressure, and bone density, and body mass index testing. Organizers of the event also gave tours of the building, and had games for the children and door prizes.
"I think this is a great day for north Putnam County," Capito said to the crowd. "I'm really proud to be a part of this."
FamilyCare has two other community health-care centers in Putnam County, as well as centers in Charleston, Kanawha City and Madison. The centers provide primary care to anyone that walks through their doors, according to Fran Coleman, FamilyCare's chief operations officer.
"We're open to the community, so we're trying to service everyone in the community," Coleman said.
Forty percent of FamilyCare patients are on Medicare or are uninsured, Coleman said. Fees for uninsured patients are applied on a sliding scale based on the federal poverty level.
ELEANOR, W.Va. -- Several months ago, a building off Roosevelt Boulevard, across from George Washington Middle School, was just a shell of what used to be a hardware store.
With hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal stimulus funds and a federal grant that U.S. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito helped secure, the building has been transformed into a community health center devoted to helping families across Putnam County find health care -- regardless of their income or their insurance.
On Tuesday, the Eleanor FamilyCare held a dedication and grand opening at the new building. Organizers wanted to hold the event when the building actually opened on June 20, but decided against it since the Winfield Bridge was still under repair.
About 200 people showed up at Tuesday's event, where nurses provided free clinic services, including blood sugar, blood pressure, and bone density, and body mass index testing. Organizers of the event also gave tours of the building, and had games for the children and door prizes.
"I think this is a great day for north Putnam County," Capito said to the crowd. "I'm really proud to be a part of this."
FamilyCare has two other community health-care centers in Putnam County, as well as centers in Charleston, Kanawha City and Madison. The centers provide primary care to anyone that walks through their doors, according to Fran Coleman, FamilyCare's chief operations officer.
"We're open to the community, so we're trying to service everyone in the community," Coleman said.
Forty percent of FamilyCare patients are on Medicare or are uninsured, Coleman said. Fees for uninsured patients are applied on a sliding scale based on the federal poverty level.
FamilyCare patients also receive a discount on prescriptions from Fruth Pharmacy, she said.
FamilyCare, a nonprofit organization, received about $1.5 million in federal stimulus funds. About $600,000 of that went toward building the Eleanor center, Coleman said.
Capito helped FamilyCare obtain a $347,000 federal grant to help fund operations at the new building.
Coleman said that before the Eleanor center opened, thousands of patients from the area would go to the other FamilyCare centers in other parts of the county.
"There was a huge need on the north side of Putnam County," she said. "We saw and serviced thousands of people on the north side of the river from Leon to Poca.
Since the center opened in June, Coleman said about 1,000 patients have already been treated. She said that while patient numbers were high because the center is new, she hopes to see the number of patients treated rise to 3,000 by the end of the year.
Aside from primary care, the center also provides a mental health counselor, who sees patients from the Eleanor branch once a week. Coleman said that there is no waitlist to see the counselor and that all anyone has to do is make an appointment.
To set up an appointment at the Eleanor FamilyCare center, call 304-586-0001 or visit www.familycarewv.org.
Reach Zac Taylor at zachary.tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.
