Homeless will have a new place for free health care
Executive directors Brett Crane and Todd Bailey cut the dedicatory ribbon during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Provo Mayor John Curtis speaks during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
A patient room is shown during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Spectators listen to speakers during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Brent Crane, Food and Care Coalition executive director, speaks during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Todd Bailey, Mountainlands Community Health Center executive director, guides spectators on a tour during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Spectators take a tour of the facilities during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Spectators take a tour of the facilities during the opening of Mountainlands East Bay Health Center in Provo on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. The health center is located at the Food and Care Coalition in Provo and is Utah County's first health clinic designed to meet the needs of homeless individuals and families in the area. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Need medical help? Simple — just go to your provider, fill out the paper work with your insurance, address and contact information and you’re on your way.
But if you don’t have even an address, the problems multiply.
Tuesday the Mountainlands East Bay Health Center will officially open in south Provo.
The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday with the goal of serving the homeless or those who are displaced or doubled up with others. It is located in suite 101 at 299 E. 900 South, adjacent to the Food and Care Coalition.
Mid-level medical personnel will be on hand to provide services. They may be nurse practitioners or physicians assistants and are full-time Mountainlands employees, not volunteers.
“Our goal by the end of 2016 is to see 900 individual clients,” said Mountainlands Community Health Center communications development manager Sarah Hodson. The East Bay clinic is the fifth clinic created by Mountainlands, which began in 1992.
Funding for the facility is through the Affordable Care Act through the federal government.
“We will continue to get federal funding but will also continue to look for other sources as well,” Hodson said.
There are two exam rooms, one procedure room, along with a dental area which is also used by Share a Smile that collaborates with the Food and Care Coalition. There is a laundry area, barber, showers and some residential areas in that section. Three meals a day are provided to those in need.
“We anticipate that a lot of people who come to the Food and Care Coalition for meals will know about it,” Hodson said of the medical center.
Currently, those who are homeless and in need of medical help often turn up in emergency rooms. Mountainlands is working with area hospitals to get the word out about the services they are offering.
Some facilities which offer help to those with low incomes use a sliding fee schedule.
“Here, for any patient who qualifies as homeless, our services are free,” Hodson said.
They can also offer a voucher program for medications, and even tokens for bus fare if they need to make a return visit.
The center is geared toward those who are homeless, but approximately 85 percent of those who are considered in that condition are there temporarily, said Todd Bailey, Executive Director of Mountainlands Community Health Center.
“Someone who is considered homeless — if they are hospitalized, they stay about four days longer,” he said. “We can save these people and save the community a lot of money.”
“This is truly an amazing facility,” Provo Mayor John Curtis said. “I get asked a lot what the secret is to the good things that are happening here in Provo. Really our secret sauce is the things that are unfolding here today and the many layers of support in the community that have nothing to do with us (government).”
Brent Crane, executive director of the Food and Care Coalition, echoed that sentiment.
“We have got great people who are smart, educated, compassionate and giving people,” he said.
Crane said the facility was designed to take advantage of partnerships and agencies working together.
“This facility was designed kind of counter to the prevailing models that have excited,” he said. “People are mixing and matching resources, sharing expenses across multiple agencies. We knew we would not do it alone.”
“People are not worried about who gets the credit,” he said.
He asked those who are aware of the clinic to tell those in need about it.
“Spread the word,” he said. “We want to make sure people come here and utilize this clinic.”
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