High Pointe Healthcare established in Scott City

People living in Scott City and the surrounding area have a new place to go for their primary health-care needs.

High Pointe Healthcare, located at 100 E. Outer Road in Scott City, opened Monday with the goal of providing health services to an area that has been designated as underserved.

With the Scott City Medical Clinic at 2102 Main St., the addition of High Pointe means the city now has two general practice facilities.

The operators of High Pointe Healthcare say it is a first-of-its-kind rural health clinic in Scott County since it is owned and staffed completely by nurse practitioners.

Rural health clinic is a designation by the federal government of a medical facility operating in such an underserved area.

"We were trained and educated to fill a need where there are people underserved," said owner Judy Hodits, a certified family nurse practitioner, of her fellow nurse practitioners.

There is a visiting physician and medical director of the clinic, Dr. Donna Allmon-Eggiman of Advance, Mo. Other than Allmon-Eggiman, who is only at the clinic part-time, the facility is staffed by nurse practitioners. Nurse practitioners generally can handle 80 to 90 percent of the cases a primary care practice encounters, Hodits said.

The clinic hopes to have the means to employ a full-time physician in the near future.

Accessible to residents

Providing quality primary care that's easily accessible to local residents at a low cost is the chief goal of the facility, said Hodits. Services offered include first-line diabetic management and counseling for patients in chronic diseases and acute illnesses.

High Pointe accepts Medicare and Medicaid and is working on becoming a provider for major insurance networks. The clinic also offers a sliding fee scale to serve those who have no form of insurance, something Hodits said is important to provide in a rural area.

The clinic also plans to provide specialists in psychological counseling for patients dealing with grief, marital problems and behavioral problems.

In only its first week of operation, Hodits said the clinic has seen plenty of traffic.

"We're getting calls all the time," she said. "Patients know us because we're well known in the community."

Hodits lives in Cape Girardeau and has worked in the area for more than seven years. The clinic's supervisor, Brenda Moyers, is a longtime resident of Scott City.

"They've been waiting for this facility for a long time," Hodits said. "Our patients have been very patient in waiting because they knew we were coming."

Appointments are encouraged, but High Pointe also accepts walk-ins, and Hodits said they'll work with ill patients to make sure they can get the treatment they need before they leave the facility.

High Pointe is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Appointments can be made by calling 264-2211.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182