After years of health care-related challenges, marked by unfulfilled promises and federal charges involving the Chicago-based company that purchased Patrick County’s vacant hospital building, a new community health center has opened up in Stuart.
Connect Health and Wellness is a Martinsville-based federally qualified health center with clinics in Bassett and Ridgeway. Adding to its footprint, a new Connect Health and Wellness clinic opened in Patrick County last week.
“This is such a big leap of faith for them,” said Nancy Bell, population manager for the West Piedmont Health District. “We want so desperately for them to succeed.”
Residents of Patrick County, population 17,600, have had minimal access to health care since Pioneer Community Hospital closed its doors in 2017. There’s only one primary care provider practicing in the county.
When Foresight Health purchased the vacant hospital property in 2022, community members were optimistic that services would be restored. However, repeated delays in reopening the facility led to growing disappointment among local leaders. Then, last month, company CEO Sameer Suhail was charged with six counts of embezzlement related to a hospital in Chicago.
In early 2024, when it became clear that Foresight would not be reopening the hospital, leadership at Connect Health and Wellness started planning to expand into the county.
The organization started by operating a mobile clinic service, offering medical and dental care, but the unit didn’t attract many patients, Bell said. The goal is to draw patients with a more conventional, stationary clinic in Stuart that will help alleviate the ongoing access challenges, Bell added.
Connect Health and Wellness is a federally qualified health center, a reimbursement designation that allows it to draw funding from the state and federal governments. Funds from the Health Resources and Services Administration helped it expand into Patrick County, said Brittany Anthony, its marketing director.
FQHCs focus on providing preventive care and chronic disease management, Anthony said. This helps reduce hospitalizations and improve health outcomes.
The clinic accepts all insurances, but insurance isn’t required for care. Rather, the clinic operates on a sliding-fee discount program that’s based on household income, making it a good health care option in a rural community where many people are uninsured or underinsured.
About 6% of the population in Patrick County is uninsured and about 20% is on Medicaid, according to DataUSA, a free online tool that aggregates government data.
The clinic offers a range of comprehensive medical and dental services, including general medical care, preventive care services, lab testing, referrals, health education and chronic disease management. Dental services cover diagnostic and preventive care, fillings, root canals and extractions.
The clinic is open for dental patients on Mondays and medical patients on Wednesdays.
The clinic is currently staffed with providers from other Connect Health and Wellness sites, and staffing and hours of operation will increase with demand, Anthony said. The organization is hiring seven clinical workers and three non-clinical workers across its sites.
When Foresight Health was considering reopening the hospital in Patrick County, community members clamored for a new emergency department. The nearest emergency department to Stuart is at least 35 minutes away in Martinsville.
County Administrator Beth Simms said she is aware of the need for emergency care but is excited to see the addition of a primary care physician and a dentist to the community.
“The biggest thing we have a need for is primary care,” Simms said. “We’re aware that the issues still exist, but this is a step in the right direction.”
