By Denise Richardson
ONEONTA _ If birthday candles were patient visits, the Oneonta Community Health Clinic would have 420 in its first year.
The clinic at 22 Academy St. opened July 29 last year, and the volunteer staff will recognize the one-year mark during its hours Tuesday night.
Since its opening, the clinic has provided 420 patient visits to low-income adults who don't have health insurance. The clinic offers basic health care and referrals and also assists those eligible to apply for federal and state health-assistance programs, according to a media release. Although the target area is Otsego and Delaware Counties, individuals needing medical care are welcome regardless of their residence. The clinic is open 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays.
An anniversary means plans for the future, including expanding hours, reaching more patients, hiring a clinic manager and starting a building fund, two board members said.
Grace Smith, board president of the Friends of the Oneonta Community Health Center, and board member Kay Stuligross said the center's anniversary elicits is a mixture of elation about serving patients and gratitude to the community for supporting the project.
The clinic has had a balancing act meeting requests for appointments with times when patients don't show up, finding volunteers to work in the office and provide medical care and working out finances.
The result is 226 adult individuals have been seen at the clinic since it opened, Smith said.
No one has been turned away based on income, board members said. The clinic has about 50 regular volunteers, board members said, but would welcome more help, including health care providers and volunteers to serve on the board. An open house may be planned this autumn, they said.
A.O. Fox Memorial Hospital in Oneonta and Bassett Healthcare, based in Cooperstown, have extended their insurance program to include nurse practitioners and physician assistants at the clinic in addition to medical doctors, the board members said. The additional coverage increases staffing options and helps to meeting demand and opening a second night, they said.
Another goal for the second year is hiring a clinic manager who would help patients and volunteers and provide direction to the board in making policy decisions, the two board members said.
The proposed budget for 2009-10 is $32,000, up from the first year's budget of about $20,780, the board members said.
``We provide a lot of care for very few dollars,'' Smith said in an e-mail message. ``Who would have imagined it would be possible?''
Stuligross, the board member responsible for duties including public relations, said 11 primary health care providers have met clinic patients, in some cases solving life-threatening health problems and in others providing physicals for school or employment.
The clinic relies on nine nurses and six office workers, Stuligross said, and many other area residents volunteer their time, cleaning the office, fundraising and solving space and policy issues, among other projects. Area churches and many individuals have given supplies and funds necessary to run the clinic, said Stuligross, who is also on the Otsego County Board of Representatives.
Board members have emphasized that visits to the clinic are confidential, and volunteers sign forms agreeing to maintain privacy. Tami Smith-Goodspeed of Oneonta gave permission for her name to be used in this article.
``The clinic people are awesome,'' said Smith-Goodspeed, of Oneonta. ``I think it's incredibly noble what they're doing.''
Smith-Goodspeed said she found out about the clinic from The Daily Star and seeks care there because she doesn't have health insurance.
``I get excellent care _ the doctors listen to everything you have to say,'' said Smith-Goodspeed, 40, who has gone to the clinic three or four times for different health concerns. Each time, she said, she has found the volunteers doctors, nurses and office workers to be friendly, helpful and willing to take time for patients.
``It's a very community-oriented place,'' Smith-Goodspeed said. ``I make a donation every time I go.''
Patient-income limits were set based on 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, board members said, and patients are asked to provide documentation of income, such as pay stubs or tax returns.
Smith and Stuligross said the building at Academy Street has been taken off the real-estate market, and the clinic has renewed its lease for two years. The clinic, which budgets for utilities and supplies, has used the space rent-free, but will start paying $500 monthly rent in October.
The landlady is Maureen Sullivan, who is working as a midwife on a reservation in Alaska after two years in North Dakota, Smith said. Sullivan originally had prepared the space for a local midwifery practice, but her plans changed.
The clinic has benefited from a $20,000 gift for an endowment from a donor who requested anonymity, Smith said. With the clinic's nonprofit status, the board will be seeking contributions, she said, adding that the clinic has been fortunate to be designated as a United Way agency.
``This has actually been a very exciting year,'' Smith said. ``We are feeling grown-up.''
The idea of for the clinic was planted about three years ago and nurtured by the Unitarian Universalist Society of Oneonta. A board of directors was established, resources were identified and volunteers found, and the clinic became a separate entity.
"Providing free medical care to our patients has been a joyful experience for me,'' Dr. Ben Friedell, clinic medical director, said in the release.
``I am profoundly grateful to the members of our community who have donated their time and their money to help us provide this medical care to our friends and neighbors," he said.
