ABOVE: STEPUP’s Deanna Witzel and District 118 Assistant Superintendent John Hart address attendees about SIHF’s planned Federally Qualified Health Centers at Friday morning’s STEPUP meeting
Friday morning’s STEPUP Vermilion County leadership group meeting at Danville’s Second Church of Christ included an appearance via ZOOM from Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation (SIHF) officials.
It was announced early last December that SIHF plans to build two Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which are designed to provide accessible health care services to everyone, in the Vermilion County area.
The first one, on the lower level at Danville High School, is scheduled to be fully operational for the fall semester. The site for the general public is still scheduled to be built on the old St. Elizabeth Hospital site on Sager Street in Danville.
There are also additional plans for a “temporary FQHC for the public” while the Sager Street building is under construction. STEPUP’s Deanna Witzel says SIHF is working with OSF to use one of their available buildings at the North Logan Avenue location.
AUDIO: So that way we can have services right away. We don’t have to wait for the construction to be completed on the Sager campus. We wanted an additional facility that was going to service the greater Vermilion County area, and that’s what the second, temporary facility will do. It’s next to the sleep lab; actually for a period of time was the old OSF Foundation Office, so they’re going to transform that into a healthcare center.
There are no definite dates right now for the opening of the temporary clinic at OSF, nor for the permanent one at the old St. E’s site. Witzel says a lot of effort right now is going into hiring staff.
As for what’s happening at the Danville High School FQHC, Assistant Superintendent John Hart told the STEPUP meeting crowd that SIHF is working on hiring a physician’s assistant to add to the staff that will be ready to see District 118 students, upon parental or guardian approval, for the fall semester. But as Hart explains, one patient has already been seen there for an immunization.
AUDIO: The regulations actually call for the healthcare facility to see a patient within I think 60 days. So they needed to see somebody and we had somebody with a need. So it worked out for both the patient and the facility.
Witzel added, this is a great “return” for health care at DHS and District 118.
AUDIO: Something that was there years ago, and they lost a grant and it closed. And so we’re very excited for that to be back open, and for them to start servicing District 118 students.
The next STEPUP meeting, by the way, is July 15th. Witzel says, all are welcome to attend, and learn more about what is being done for the needs and concerns in Vermilion County.
