Center for Family Medicine Opens Expanded Clinic
Doubled space, ser
vices benefit patients
The purple and green walls at the SIU Center for Family Medicine in Springfield speak to the patients with quotes such as “An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away” and “Did you know that skin is the largest organ?”
Freshly painted walls, more exam rooms, easier access to health care providers and services. These are just some of the benefits patients are enjoying at the SIU Center for Family Medicine, 520 N. Fourth Street in Springfield, which in late August opened a newly-built expansion that doubles its space to total 60,300 sq ft. The space increases the exam rooms by 70 percent, to a total of 62 exam rooms and six counseling rooms.
“The new facility for the Center for Family Medicine in Springfield advances the mission of SIU School of Medicine,” said Jerry Kruse, MD, MSPH, dean and provost of SIU School of Medicine and CEO of SIU HealthCare. “This expanded space will allow us to increase our ability to deliver comprehensive care to the people of our community and also will improve our capacity for community-based teaching and service.” Kruse formerly was chairman of the Department of Family and Community Medicine.
“Our patients deserve these improvements that give them a better patient care experience,” said Janet Albers, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine. “This space also gives us more room to train our family medicine residents.” Patients have easy access to additional services including a dietitian, behavioral health integration, care coordination, transition of care, advance care planning and the medical-legal partnership.
As a Community Health Center, the clinic serves a largely low-income population. The expansion was needed because the clinic has doubled its number of patient visits to 60,000 visits a year since becoming a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2012.
That designation, along with the Affordable Care Act, meant more people were making appointments – and the clinic was running out of space. “Not only was there increased demand, but we had additional services to offer and additional staff to help our patients,” said Iris Wesley, CEO of the Center. Construction began in September 2015 and was completed in July.
“I am very satisfied with the services I have received,” said one patient who has been receiving care at SIU Center for Family Medicine for 18 years. “There is a real cohesive team approach. They take care of your whole being under one roof.”
Memorial Health System, which owns the family medicine building, funded the expansion and the renovation under way on the existing clinic. That space will house acute care and subspecialty clinics and other wrap around services. It is set to be completed in early 2017.
MULTIMEDIA:
See photographs of the Sept. 29 ribbon cutting
See photographs of the construction (password: yearbook)
See a video of the construction
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