Barry Porterfield
Pauls Valley — A Garvin County area medical clinic has been given a much needed boost thanks to some very big bucks that could take it to the next level in terms of the services provided to patients.
News of some major funding through a federal stimulus package means the South Central Medical and Resource Center in Lindsay will likely go from having a tough time keeping its doors open to instead an expansion of its health services in the very near future.
The facility, which opened in early 2007, was awarded a true “stimulus” of $650,000 for each of the next two years.
“We were struggling, but we persevered and kept in there,” said Lynn Scruggs, chairman of the center’s board.
“Now that we’ve got the extra funding we can hire a doctor. Hopefully we’ll be able to see a whole lot more folks,” he said.
“Our goal is to provide primary care. It’s not free. It’s affordable. We’ll see anyone who needs help.”
The mission of the federally qualified clinic is to provide affordable health care to low income residents and those underserved with their medical needs.
Scruggs said an application had already been submitted for some funding when the federal stimulus package came along.
Now that it has Scruggs and others are sure the clinic’s services will expand as plans have already begun to up the staff there.
Currently the clinic has four employees with nurse practitioners being supervised by a doctor who doesn’t actually work at the facility.
The stimulus funding will change all that as the clinic’s board plans to hire between nine and 14 new employees in the health care field, including a physician who will be full-time just at the clinic.
The funding comes at a good time as officials with the clinic have been constantly out there working to raise public donations with most of that from the Lindsay area.
Still, the clinic services more than just the Lindsay area as groups of people from Pauls Valley and other places in the area come over to use the facility, Scruggs said.
“We can be a hub to provide affordable care to these folks. Our goal is to have a satellite clinic in Pauls Valley someday,” he said, adding similar plans are for Purcell and Chickasha.
An example of the growth potential for the Lindsay clinic comes from a similar facility in Tishomingo.
According to Scruggs, it started five years ago in a small, modular building with very little funding available.
Fast forward to today and the Tish clinic has a $3 million facility and budget, Scruggs said.
Included in the health care services provided at the Lindsay clinic is a behavioral medicine component and substance abuse. Plans are also in place to provide pharmacy services at a reduced cost to patients, Scruggs added.
