NEWS

Mercy, MSU, The Kitchen, Inc., to open new clinic for uninsured

Jackie Rehwald
JREHWALD@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Mercy, Missouri State University and The Kitchen, Inc., are in the planning stages of a project aimed at expanding access to health care for low-income, uninsured patients while also expanding educational opportunities for MSU students.

The project will create a primary care clinic on the MSU campus, in the new O'Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center. The clinic will serve uninsured adult patients who are not eligible for coverage under Medicare or Medicaid and whose income is less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level.

According to Mercy spokeswoman Sonya Kullman, the goal is to have the program in place by October.

Rorie Orgeron, CEO of The Kitchen, Inc., called the planned clinic a "win for the community."

"You are going to have one of the biggest health care providers in town much more involved than what they've been," he said. "I don't see it as a negative at all."

The Kitchen Inc., has offered health care services to those without insurance and whose income is less than 133 percent of the poverty level since 1985. It is an effort Mercy has supported through funding and donations of supplies and medical staff time, according to a news release. MSU has also been a partner, as students pursuing the nurse practitioner program have fulfilled a portion of their curriculum by providing care at The Kitchen Medical and Dental Clinic.

Orgeron said he does not know yet what services will continue to be offered at The Kitchen Inc., when the new clinic opens.

"The clinic will reside in the new O'Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center, which is part of MSU's College of Health and Human Services. It will be a new facility with new equipment and it will resemble a Mercy Clinic," Kullman said in an email.

MSU and Mercy will operate the new clinic, which will provide hands-on training for students in health sciences degree programs in collaboration with Mercy medical staff. The project is being funded by Mercy and MSU.

Kullman said they are planning for 7,500 visits for the first year, serving about 2,000 patients.

"This clinic plan exemplifies our public affairs mission," Dr. Helen Reid, dean of the College of Health and Human Services at MSU, said in the release. "Not only will we provide greater service to our community, students in the college will participate in a collaborative practice model of care designed to improve health care outcomes, cost-effectiveness and patient satisfaction. This clinic will allow us to meet new accreditation standards for interprofessional education, and graduates will be even better providers for their future patients."