KENT COUNTY, MI – Catherine’s Health Center is providing one location for the community to get quality health care and wraparound services, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay.
The new expanded clinic, located at 260 60th St. SE Suite 200, shares space with Streams, a community development agency that provides family support and emergency food services.
By partnering with the agency, officials said medical, behavioral and dental care will be available at one location, along with other lifestyle programs.
“Co-locating with Streams also gives our patients access to a food pantry, GED classes, LifeSkills programs and more,” said Megan Erskine, chief executive officer of Catherine’s Health Center.
Sam Wohlfeil, director of strategic engagement at Catherine’s Health Center, said the clinic has been pushing for the expansion since becoming a federally qualified health center in 2020.
“We have a patient expected count amount that we have to reach for our grant funding and the federal government,” he said. “That patient count is 19,000, so that’s why we’re growing and expanding to become a fully federally qualified health center system across West Michigan.”
Wohlfeil said Catherine’s Health Center aimed to be strategic about where they placed the new clinic in Kent County, especially one with multiple services.
“The area we’re in is one of the poorest areas in all of Kent County,” he said. “And with that in mind, it’s incredibly underserved in general. It’s a healthcare desert. In that way, we can provide care to an area that truly needs the help.
We’re most excited about being able to reach so many diverse and underserved populations, and being able to be that one-stop shop, kind of a beacon, in these communities.”
The campus is also designed with people of all abilities in mind, the news release said, supported by a $250,000 grant from the Delta Dental Foundation (DDF).
Thanks to the grant, the clinic will be a Center for Inclusive Dentistry, the news release said. A location where oral health professionals have received training to provide immersive care for people with disabilities.
“Many people with disabilities cite dental care as their number one unmet health need,” said Holli Seabury, executive director of the DDF. “But we, and Catherine’s Health Center, believe everyone deserves a healthy smile.”
In total, Catherine’s is tasked with serving 23 zip codes within West Michigan, the release said.
The hours for the new clinic are Monday through Friday, from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit https://catherineshc.org or call 616-336-8800.
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