A new primary healthcare facility is opening this week in West Eugene. The Brookside Clinic is the fifth Community Health Center to serve new patients in Lane County.
A Community Health Center is much like any other doctor’s office except *these clinics focus not only on individual health but the well being of the entire community. Jason Davis is with Lane County Health and Human Services.
Davis: “As you, a patient, are going in and seeing your doctor you’re also being challenged toward prevention.”
An influx of new members to the Oregon Health Plan has overwhelmed provider networks. Davis says 9,000 Lane County residents have no primary physician. Brookside Clinic is expected to see up to 6,000 of these new patients.
Sixty percent of Community Health Center patients are children and adolescents. More than half live at or below the poverty level.
Davis: “We want to see our community come together around these health clinics. We want to see our most vulnerable population served and we want the community to be a part of that.
Brookside Clinic, a project of Lane County and Trillium Community Health Plan, will begin seeing patients Wednesday.