State Department of Health Celebrates Groundbreaking for New Health Facility in Maury County

Columbia, March 2, 2006

Today, representatives of the Tennessee Department of Health joined Maury County officials and other state and local government officials in breaking ground for the new Maury County Health Department facility. The new Health Department location at Highway 412 at the Highway 43 exchange, in Columbia, is scheduled to be complete in early 2007. In May 2005, Governor Phil Bredesen proposed $1 million in Healthcare Safety Net funding for a new facility for the Maury County Health Department. The funding, which was approved by the Tennessee General Assembly, will assist in the addition of primary care services for local residents currently without health insurance.

”Now that we have turned the corner with TennCare, we have begun to devote our energy to the needs of the uninsured in Tennessee,” said Governor Bredesen. “Increasing access to primary care services for uninsured Tennesseans are some of the most important safety net investments we can make.”

Once complete, the facility will include 20 examination rooms, and employ approximately 45 health professionals. The cost for the 27,000-plus square foot facility, including construction, equipment and furnishings, totals more than $4.8 million.

“I am pleased that the Maury County Health Department will be able to provide additional services for the citizens of Maury and surrounding counties,” said Maury County Mayor James L. Bailey, Jr. “Funding for this project is a result of the partnership among Maury County government, the Tennessee Department of Health and the General Assembly.  We look forward to offering these services to our citizens.”

The Maury County Health Department currently offers the following services:  immunizations, well child/EPSDT screenings, WIC and nutrition services, birth and death certificates, children’s special services care coordination, breast and cervical cancer screening, family planning, HIV testing and counseling, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, and communicable disease control.  The new health department facility will add staff and space for primary care services, environmental health, food service worker training, clinical dental services for TennCare and uninsured children, and tuberculosis, colposcopy and HIV clinics. Basic medical services for uninsured adults are offered on a sliding fee scale based on income, with a $5 minimum fee for each visit.

“The hard work of this local government and community to establish a new facility for the citizens of Maury County is finally coming to fruition,” said Maury County Health Department Director Brenda Martin. “The staff of the Maury County Health Department looks forward to the expanded capacity and amenities the new facility will provide. It is certain to greatly enhance our ability to better serve the residents of this area.”

In the fall of 2005, the Department of Health began offering new or expanded adult primary care services to uninsured residents of Tennessee in an effort to strengthen the state’s health care safety net. By December 2005, eight counties were offering the services: Anderson, Carter, Cheatham, Greene, Hawkins, Putnam, Roane and Washington. In January of this year, an additional 31 county health departments added adult primary care to their catalog of services. Eight more counties are scheduled for implementation later in 2006.

The new or expanded primary care services in ultimately 47 counties will surpass the implementation goal and quantity set forth by the Governor’s Safety Net Task Force and are a result of funding to strengthen the state’s health care safety net to assist the more than 700,000 Tennesseans who are without health insurance.