MEDIA ADVISORY
EVENT LOCATION: 386 Ben Bolt Avenue, Tazewell, VA 24651
RIBBON CUTTING OF TAZEWELL COMMUNITY HEALTH
October 10, 2018 – Tazewell, Va. – After breaking ground on the new facility nearly a year ago, Tazewell Community Health will be hosting a Ribbon Cutting and Open House event for the new facility on Thursday, October 25, 2018
Tours of the new facility beginning at 10 a.m. and the ribbon cutting at 10:30 a.m.
“We are very excited to finally to open the new facility. This project is a vision that turned into a reality over the course of the past few years, and we could not be happier with the direction that it is headed. With this facility, the quality of healthcare can be enhanced for the citizens of Tazewell County. We look forward to being part of that enhancement in the years to come,” said CEO of Southwest Virginia Community Health Systems, Bryan Haynes.
EVENT DETAILS
-Event will promptly begin at 10 a.m. with tours of the new facility and the ribbon cutting beginning at 10:30 a.m.
– Virginia Del. James “Will” Morefield from the 3rd District will be speaking on the impact and the health of the county and the local economy.
-Media questions will immediately follow any closing remarks.
SNAPSHOT OF THE COMMUNITIES WE SERVE
Our delivery site locations are in Bristol, Meadowview, Saltville, and Tazewell. However, the county of Tazewell is one of the most medically unserved comminutes in in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The need for affordable and accessible healthcare in Tazewell County is overwhelming. In 2015, Tazewell County ranked as the lowest in health status and outcomes in the Commonwealth. In 2016, this situation improved slightly, but we are still ranked in the bottom 6% for health status and outcomes at 126 out of 134 counties (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps). Residents of Tazewell County have less access to medical care than residents statewide. Our Tazewell Community Health Center is the only one serving this high-need population. The area is designated as a Medically Underserved Area, low-income dental Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA), and mental health HPSA.
No other safety net providers, including health center grantees, look-alikes are located in the service area. The lack of accessible health care in Southwest Virginia has received a great deal of national media attention. Residents of our region often travel hours, camping overnight, to receive health care services in pop-up clinics held in fields and on fairgrounds. While we value the availability of these services and the spirit in which they are provided, we believe that Southwest Virginians deserve access to affordable health care, provided in clean, modern facilities by well-equipped and highly-qualified providers who are members of the community and available to provide primary and comprehensive care year-round.
PLAN OF ACTION FOR TAZEWELL
In order in better serve our current Tazewell patients as well as make room for more of the medically unserved, we have built a new larger service delivery site to replace Tazewell Community Health’s current building. The new site will increase our scope of services to include dental, pediatric, optometry, and radiology services and will employ eight additional health care professionals. The total square footage of the current building is approximately 3,600 sq. ft. The proposed project will increase square footage to 9,732 sq. ft. and the number of exam rooms will increase from 8 to 14. The new building will allow us to meet more needs of the community through facility appropriateness and efficiency, increased capacity to provide services, and increasing the scope of services available to patients compared to what is currently available at our existing site.
MEDICAL SERVICES OFFERED AT NEW TAZEWELL SITE
Primary Care with Integrated Behavioral Health
Pediatrics
Optometry
Dental