July 2009
I welcome you to attend the grand opening of the Millvale at Hopple Street Health Center, (2750 Beekman) on July 23 from 2-5 pm. The event is a celebration of the preventive and primary health care services that we provide, the clients we serve and the important partnership between the City of Cincinnati, Children’s Hospital, the Health Alliance and the local communities that have made this new community health center possible. After years of planning, preparation and construction, our co-location with Children’s Hospital will provide an expanded array of community oriented services to area residents.
For years the Cincinnati Health Department has operated six primary care and two dental facilities serving 35,000 patients and 140,000 patient visits annually. As with all of the primary care sites this facility provides Cincinnatians with top of the line preventive health services including primary care, dental, laboratory, pharmacy, OB/GYN, the Women Infant and Child Program (WIC). Clients will receive chronic disease prevention and care management; asthma case management and health promotion advice. The facility features a state of the art dental area with 5 chairs. There are also 2 board certified physicians (internal medicine and pediatrics), I pharmacist and 4 full time nurses and 1 social worker on site.
The strong ties with the local communities of North Fairmount, Millvale and South Cumminsville, Children’s Hospital—who also operates a facility at the site—and the Health Alliance are crucial to advancing neighborhood solutions for community health improvement and prevention. These ties help strengthen relationships that allow us greater access to resources that improve the quality and efficiency of the health services. More importantly healthier communities are stronger, more vibrant communities. In a business context, this new location offers residents and other health care providers more resources. Children’s Medical Center’s client’s have access to on-site pharmacy and dental facility, which should contribute to compliance to care.
The location of our new health center better serves more residents of the local communities. The new facility is located on a major bus line—increasing clients’ ability to access the health center. We strive to be sensitive to social factors and the physical environment of communities, and this convenient location will enable more residents to access our health centers as well as receive services, that improve health and promote wellness.
The collaboration with Children’s Medical Center is another step towards our effort to strengthen our work with communities to reduce health inequities and reach the national goal of Healthy People in Healthy Communities.
The facility is jointly operated by the City of Cincinnati Primary Care and is one of the centers just designated by the federal government as an FQHC Look-Alike. We worked for 2 years to earn this designation which means the City of Cincinnati and the patients we serve will now have access to critical federal resources. In addition the Department will benefit from discounted prescription pricing and this will enhance our ability to recruit talented physicians, dentists, nurse practitioners and mental health workers. It could also have an impact on the City’s ability to receive federal economic stimulus health care dollars.
We at the Cincinnati Health Department gratefully acknowledge that none of this would have been possible without the hard work and support of the dedicated CHD staff past and present, the CCPC Board, the Cincinnati Board of Health, North Fairmount Community Center, The Health Alliance, Children’s Hospital, The State of Ohio, Mayor Mark Mallory, Cincinnati City Council, City Manager Milton Dohoney, Dr. Larry Hill, the communities of North Fairmount, Millvale and South Cumminsville and countless other supporters.
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