Santa Rosa Community Clinic sees 1,847 charity patients

MILTON — The Santa Rosa Community Clinic provides outpatient health care to those in need. These include the working poor, the medically needy and those with too little or no insurance. The clinic is located at 5520 Stewart St., across from the health department.

Chandra Smiley, executive director of the Escambia Community Clinic, of which Santa Rosa is a satellite operation, recently presented an update on the clinic to Santa Rosa commissioners.

Here are some fast facts:

• Roughly 3,000 Santa Rosa residents rely on the clinic for their health care needs, according to Smiley.
• In addition to primary health care, the clinic provides pediatric health care, behavioral health for children and adults, laboratory services, prescription assistance, case management, health care for the homeless and more.
• In 2016, the clinic received 1,847 charity visits that cost, on average, $159.83. These visits were 23 percent of total visits. The county funding of $87,480 helped cover $47.37 of each visit.
• The clinic struggled with providers being out on leave in 2016, with patient visits dropping from 9,856 in 2015 to 8,261 in 2016, but it recruited new providers. The clinic itself has also grown, which required renovation of its buildings.
• The Santa Rosa clinic had five sponsors in 2016 donating over $200,000.

The clinic's donors and their gifts are as follows:

• Santa Rosa County, $87,480
• Santa Rosa Medical Center, $62,500
• Sacred Heart Health System, $25,000
• Baptist Health Care, $25,000
• United Way, $2,250; this donation went toward purchasing a new electrocardiogram machine, according to Smiley.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Santa Rosa Community Clinic sees 1,847 charity patients