TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hernando Today

A Healthy Expansion

ADVERTISEMENT

By TONY MARRERO

Published: July 3, 2008

SPRING HILL - It's a tight ship these days down at the Hernando County Health Department's Spring Hill clinic.

In the dental clinic, staffers dance around each other in a narrow front office.

Another worker looks over medical records in what was a once a closet. Nearby, a medical chart sits on a tiny table that folds down from the wall — a workable alternative to an actual desk.

Over in the medical clinic, department Administrator Elizabeth Callaghan points to a tiny screening room, big enough for a examination table and a couple of chairs.

And in the Women, Infants and Children Clinic, offices double as examination rooms.

Staff members at the clinic, located in the government center on Forest Oaks Boulevard, "are doing the best the can" to provide the finest care," said Callaghan.

Callaghan boasts that the service is superior to any private clinic. But the confines of 8,249 square feet keeps the department from meeting a burgeoning need for medical care in the western side of the county, Callaghan said.

The population in Spring Hill grew from 52,000 to an estimated 95,000 in 2004.

The uninsured rate has climbed to 17.5 percent. But the number of underinsured has grown, too, Callaghan said. The health department is seeing more and more patients who can't afford their co-payments at their family practitioner, she said.

It all means that the number of people who use the health department as their family doctor is growing, too. The clinic's adult health, pediatric and women's care programs had a total of 13,400 visits in 2006.

Often, though, patients already strapped for cash and minding every mile per gallon are forced to drive to the clinic in downtown Brooksville to get care.

"It's absolutely a disservice to them," she said. "We could serve at least 50 percent more clients in a larger clinic."

Finally, the means for that prescription have arrived.

After a decade of annual requests, the state has set aside $14.2 million for a new clinic.

It is "much-needed," said Susan Smith, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health.

"We know that the citizens of Hernando County will benefit immensely," Smith said.

The building will sit on two acres of land just east of the existing clinic. The county acquired the parcel in 1999 for the purpose.

Since then, Callaghan's request for funding has moved up the list until the need could not be denied, even in the tightest budget year in recent memory.

The department will work with the county to seek bids for architectural and construction services, Callaghan said. Because of the size of the lot, the clinic will likely be two stories, with patient services on the first floor and administrative offices on the second floor.

That will allow administration to move out of rented space near the Hernando County Airport. The rent money saved will help pay for new health care providers, she said.

A target opening date hasn't been set.

Callaghan, however, will retire in November of 2011, and she said she's optimistic the doors will open by then.

At A Glance

Hernando County Health Department's Spring Hill Clinic, 7465 Forest Oaks Blvd.

Square footage: 8,249.

Staff members: 56.

Estimated number of services provided (2006): 41,000.

Building's peak daily occupancy, (2006): 217.

Peak daily occupancy clinic was designed for: 113.

The new clinic

Budget: $14.2 million for building and furniture.

Square footage: 37,000.

Staffers: 112 (estimated).

Location: Forest Oaks Boulevard, east of existing government center.

Estimated opening date: TBD, but health department administrator says she's optimistic doors will open by fall, 2011.

Source: Hernando County Health Department.

Reporter Tony Marrero can be reached at 352-544-5286 or lmarrero@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT