Stewart County Awarded $68,000 in Special Needs Funding
Today on behalf of Governor Phil Bredesen, Assistant Commissioner Cathy Taylor, DrPH, MSN, RN, of the Tennessee Department of Health presented Stewart County Mayor Rick Joiner a check for $68,000 in special needs funding. The award will be used to assist with renovations at the Stewart County Community Medical Center in Dover, the health department facility in Stewart County. Taylor was joined by Stewart County Health Department Director Evelyn Vaillencourt, as well as other state and local government officials and county staff members.
“It is our goal to make primary care services available throughout Tennessee in places where our citizens live and work,” said Governor Bredesen. “By committing these financial resources to Stewart County, the State and the Tennessee General Assembly have ensured the residents of this community will have access to these important health services.”
In the fall of 2005, the Tennessee 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. In June 2006, Governor Bredesen signed the Cover Tennessee Act, which includes initiatives to extend health coverage to uninsured children and chronically ill adults, and creates a low-cost insurance program for uninsured working Tennesseans.
“This funding will allow the Stewart County Health Department to better provide these crucial health care services to people in this community, and I am glad to be involved in supporting this effort,” said Sen. Roy Herron, District 24
“Our residents in rural areas such as Stewart County have few options for getting primary health care, so it is a great benefit to have these services available at the county health department,” said Rep. Willie “Butch” Borchert, District 75.
“We are so pleased we were able to work with Governor Bredesen and the Legislature in supporting the provision of primary health care through our health department clinic in Stewart County,” said Taylor. “These services are an important way to prevent serious illness and provide management of chronic health conditions.”
The Stewart County Community Medical Center at 1021 Spring Street in Dover is a long-time provider of comprehensive primary health care services. In addition, the facility offers an array
of other services including dental care, family planning, immunizations, well child/EPSDT screenings, WIC and nutrition services, breast and cervical cancer screening, birth and death certificates, children’s special services, HIV testing and counseling, sexually transmitted disease testing and treatment, and communicable disease control. Primary care services are offered on a sliding fee scale based on income, with a $5 minimum fee for each visit. Hours for the clinic are 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday; and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday. Individuals wishing to make an appointment may contact the Stewart County Community Medical Center at (931) 232-5329.