(Posted April 3, 2019)
By Kristy Zurbrick. Madison Editor
Rocking Horse Community Health Center is looking to add a second site in Madison County and increase services.
The organization is outgrowing its first site in the county, located at 212 N. Main St., London, behind Madison Health. The federally funded facility provides care to patients who are on Medicaid or Medicare, who are underinsured, or who are uninsured. Patients are seen regardless of their ability to pay.
Based in Springfield, Rocking Horse opened its first Madison County site in 2014. Since then, the facility has seen a seven-fold increase in patient visits. Last year, the facility saw 1,127 patients who made an average of 3.26 visits during the course of the year.
“This is really just a growth issue,” said David Dhume, former Madison County commissioner who serves as a business development consultant to Rocking Horse.
Rocking Horse is seeking a $650,000 federally funded “second access site” grant. The application is due in April. The organization should know by June if they got the funds, which once granted are renewable annually.
Rocking Horse has already scoped out a second site in an existing facility. The location will be announced if and when the grant comes through.
In addition to funding a second site, the grant would allow Rocking Horse to increase the amount of family medicine and therapy it offers in Madison County, as well as add services, such as chiropractic care. Currently, the London site provides primary care (well child visits, annual physicals, chronic condition management, women’s health visits, same-day appointments for illnesses, and more), prenatal services, counseling, and psychiatry. Substance use treatment is slated to start soon.
If the grant comes through, the second site and additional services should be operational by the end of this year, according to Donna Brown-Thompson, director of Madison County services for Rocking Horse.
“Whether we get the grant or not, I think we are going to do it,” Brown-Thompson said about expanding the number of locations and services in Madison County.
She also said Rocking Horse is looking to build a new facility in the county in two to three years. The potential location is off of Keny Boulevard in London.
Rocking Horse Community Health Center, 212 N. Main St., London, is open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and 8:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, call (740)845-7286.
