The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by David Grimes, The Quill
OQUAWKA - For many in west-central Illinois, the Henderson County Rural Health Center is a welcome alternative to traveling long distances for medical care or going without it altogether.
Originally a product of the National Health Service Corps, the health center was one of many set up across the country to supply medical services in mostly rural and medically underserved areas. The Henderson County Rural Health Center started with temporary offices in trailers 25 years ago, while a building was being built on the east side of Oquawka.
Young doctors working to pay off their medical school bills often staffed the center and others like it across the country.
Today, that is not so much the case as it was then, with medical professionals wanting to stay within the area staffing the center.
While the face of health care at such centers has changed over the years, the mission has not.
Complex or chronic cases are referred to specialists, but the center thrives on providing quality routine health care, according to its director Melinda Whiteman.
The clinic recorded 16,000 patient visits last year, with more than 5,000 persons benefiting from clinic services.
There are about 750 similar organizations nationwide whose purpose is to provide basic health care for those who do not have the financial ability to secure it on their own.
President George W. Bush supports an initiative to add 1,200 similar centers across the United States by 2006, Whiteman said.
One side of the health center provides dental services with the other side housing the medical offices and examination rooms.
Three sites are considered part of the center - the dental clinic at Stronghurst, the S.C. Lindo's office at Biggsville and the Oquawka location, where Jonathan Lindo is the resident physician.
The health center's $1.6 million annual budget is provided through three sources.
"Private donations, grants and patient pay revenue," Whiteman said.
A local board of directors oversees the operation as well as staffing and business decisions.
A sliding fee scale broken down into eight categories pertaining to family size allows patients to pay their bill at a level they can afford based on annual household income.
The discounts offered are 25 percent, 50 percent, 75 percent and the clinic's minimum fee.
Some prescription assistance is available as well, through the sliding fee program, patient assistance and samples from pharmaceutical corporations.
"Patients generally fall into one of three groups," said Leah Shimmin, certified nurse practitioner at the center. "Medicaid recipients, patient assistance cases and sliding fee patients."
"We're obligated to provide health care first for a well-defined service area," Whiteman said, adding that individuals from outside that area may be treated at the clinic thereafter.
The health center's coverage area includes Mercer, Warren and Henderson counties. Patients have come from areas outside the coverage area, including Knox, Fulton and McDonough counties, Wisconsin, Missouri and Chicago.
The swell of individuals expressly seeking dental care last year became so overwhelming that those patients within the center's coverage area were scheduling visits to the dental clinic five and six months in advance.
"It got to the point where appointments were scheduled so far in advance, people were forgetting when they were supposed to come in," Whiteman said.
Whiteman said the clinic strives to serve as many persons as possible, but says the immediate coverage area remains the first priority.
"You have to believe in the mission," Whiteman said.
"And we do. We're committed to community health."