By Ken Jackson
Staff Writer

The new Community Health Clinic opened Friday in Buenaventura Lakes that will strive to keep people who work regular business hours healthy, or return them to health, by providing timely, affordable and quality healthcare.

The joint venture between Osceola County and the county’s Health Department to operate the Osceola County Community Health Clinic after hours and briefly on the weekends will provide primary care services for all age groups, including annual exams, sick and wellness visits and follow-ups.

The clinic also will serve as a satellite for the new Women, Infant and Children (WIC) care program, a federally-funded health and nutrition program for pregnant women, new mothers, infants and children under age five who meet certain income guidelines.

The 1,781-square-foot facility at 2597 Boggy Creek Road, just north of Buenaventura Boulevard, will serve the entire community, but its focus will be on low to moderate-income county residents.

It will operate from 6-9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, from 5-9 p.m. on Friday and 8 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday for primary care visits. It will serve the WIC program from 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Among the other services made available by the clinic will be family planning, school physicals and other physical exams, care-related lab tests, health education and primary care-related health services.

Program fund from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) were used to purchase and retrofit the site into the clinic. CDBG funds will also be used in its operation. Osceola County CDBG Program Director Keisha Cyriaano said the clinic’s biggest benefit is that it makes healthcare affordable to local residents.

“That’s the vital part of the community,” she said. “A place where money is the last thing they have to worry about. Having a place where their health comes first is something the community needed.”

Belinda Johnson-Cornett, Osceola County Health Department director, said the partnership between the county and its Public Health division is an exciting development for county residents who might not have otherwise had access to quality health care for themselves or their children.

“The clinic is a major breakthrough to the community, making healthcare affordable to the people who needed medical attention with little resources,” she said. “The hours make it more accessible to the ones who works regular 8-5 shifts, and is the only clinic open after hours to cater and provide quality and affordable healthcare.

“We want to thank Commissioner (John) Quiñones for his diligence in making his vision a reality.”

Quiñones, the commission chairman whose district 2 includes Buenaventura Lakes area where the clinic is located, said the clinic is an example of what can happen when communities are able to leverage federal, state and local resources for their benefit.

“Access to healthcare has always been an issue of great concern to me, and the opening of this clinic helps fulfill one of my top priorities,” he said. “The clinic was a vision with the uninsured and under insured people in mind, helping and providing the community a better access to healthcare.”

Staff Writer Michelle DeLeon contributed to this story.