When it was announced in June that a new primary care clinic would be coming to Highlands, the news was met with quiet optimism.
As the staff of the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation, Blue Ridge Health and the Mountain Area Health Education Center continue to work on bringing the clinic to fruition, it appears that the format of the new clinic is just what the doctor ordered for Highlands, Cashiers and surrounding communities.
About a year ago, groups of concerned citizens organized town hall style events and questioned leaders from HCHF, Highlands Cashiers Hospital, Mission Health and Hospital Corporation of America regarding the future of healthcare on the plateau. Obviously, with such a small year round population, Highlands and Cashiers present a unique set of challenges for healthcare providers who have to take profitability into account.
At the time, Dr. Thomas Duncan had recently left his practice and the need for local primary care was at a critical level. There was a feeling that Mission Health’s sale to HCA was behind Duncan’s departure and that the transition to for-profit healthcare might mean an end to primary care for Highlands and Cashiers.
Fortunately, HCHF, Blue Ridge Health and MAHEC along with officials from Highlands-Cashiers Hospital and HCA all appear to be on the same page in making sure that primary care does remain available.
The new Blue Ridge Community Health Center will feature two primary care physicians, at least one resident-level medical student, and will take patients who have private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid. There will also be a sliding fee scale for uninsured patients.
If plans to locate the clinic in the Woodruff Building on the Highlands Cashiers Hospital campus come together, the clinic will instantly become an important spoke in the giant wheel of healthcare. Close proximity to the hospital will allow patients additional access to many additional services including X-rays and more advanced tests if needed.
The new primary care clinic is not going to solve all of the complex healthcare issues facing Highlands, Cashiers, and rural Western North Carolina as a whole. But it has potential to be a big first step in the right direction.