procedure/minor emergency room, behavioral health and therapy room, laboratory center, reception area, business office, and conference room. Space for x-ray procedures has been set aside for future consideration. First Patient Seen at CHCSI Site in Lamoni
Dr. Pat Magle talks with David Devonis, the Community Health Centers of Southern Iowa's first patient at the newly opened site in Lamoni, IA. The Lamoni site which opened May 30 th is located at 911 East Main. The modern facility has three exam rooms and one major procedure/minor emergency room, behavioral health and therapy room, laboratory center, reception area, business office, and conference room. Space for x-ray procedures has been set aside for future consideration.
Dr. Patricia (Pat) K. Magle, who will divide her time between the practice in Leon and the Lamoni site along with Dr. Abel Cruz, has provided medical expertise as a Family Practitioner in Decatur County for over twenty years.
In 1997, Dr. Magle, Jim McKinney, Chief Financial Officer at Graceland University at the time, and Bonnie Orris, a local Pharmacist at that time, met for the first of several meetings at the Pizza Shack in Lamoni to discuss how to improve healthcare in Decatur County. Out of those meetings a steering committee of concerned citizens established Healthcare Development of Lamoni, Inc. (HDL).
HDL stepped forward in the past, raised funds locally, secured a no interest loan, and built a modern clinic. In June of 1999, that new facility opened and started providing healthcare services to the people of Decatur County and surrounding areas.
Since 1999, the Decatur County healthcare service area has seen an increased number of uninsured patients, less reimbursement, less people being served due to the economic conditions and declining revenue. HDL's concern for escalating healthcare disparities and decreased access to affordable quality healthcare led it to conclude that Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status was essential.
HDL changed its name and become the Community Health Centers of Southern Iowa, Inc. (CHCSI) with the goal of expanding its scope to serving a target population in the entire service area and applying for a Federal grant. After several attempts to be considered as a Federally Qualified Health Center and receive Federal funding, CHCSI was granted $650,000 in December, 2004 and opened its doors April 1st of this year in Leon. The second site in Lamoni assures accessibility to all who need it.
In July, CHCSI will welcome the FOCUS unit of Decatur County Hospital as the Behavioral Health Centers of Southern Iowa. FOCUS is well thought of and will allow CHCSI the opportunity to develop and expand another much needed service to the people CHCSI serves. Approximately fifty per cent of all primary medical care visits have a behavioral health disparity.