Published: July 05, 2008 12:00 am      

Oneonta clinic to open July 29

ONEONTA _ The Oneonta Community Health Center opening has been delayed, but the free clinic is taking requests for appointments, organizers said.

The clinic at 22 Academy St. was to open Tuesday, but work to prepare for opening hasn't been completed, organizers said, and the rescheduled opening date is July 29. Ongoing steps include confirming certification for professional volunteers and arranging for and training lay volunteers, they said.

The center is for patients who don't have health insurance. Patients must call 433-0300 in advance for an appointment, said Grace Smith, president of Friends of the Oneonta Community Health Center, on Wednesday. The clinic will be open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays.

About 15 medical professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, will be volunteering at the clinic, said Dr. Ben Friedell, clinic medical director.

Friedell said preparations are time-consuming, especially considering that the medical volunteers work full- or part-time. References and credentials must be checked, he said, and lay volunteers need to be trained to work at a medical clinic.

Each physician will be working at the clinic under his or her license and malpractice coverage, Friedell said.

Friedell said he has been impressed by the response from the community in time and donations offered. Many residents who aren't medically trained have volunteered for tasks such as office work and screening patients.

Smith said the clinic seeks a volunteer to coordinate the nursing staff, and it needs supplies such as bandages and cotton. Organizers will be working on schedules, she said, and there will be a ``dry run'' of practice office hours before the clinic opens to see patients.

The center has raised about $27,000 and, after having met some expenses, has about $20,000 in the bank, which is sufficient to open, Smith said. A major appeal to the community is being planned because the clinic will have operating costs to meet.

``We certainly could use some donations,'' Smith said.

The clinic is tax-exempt through the Unitarian Universalist Society, which initiated the project, but is applying for its own status, she said.

OCHC will provide primary and preventive care to eligible patients, help them enroll in county, state or federal health insurance programs, and obtain medications and advanced care.

According to the website, services to be offered include nutrition counseling and management of some chronic and long-term medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure.

Income limits will be based on 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, Smith said. For example, adults in a family of four earning $41,300 annually would be eligible; and $20,420 would be the cutoff for a single person. Documentation of income, such as pay stubs or tax returns, will be requested.

The mailing address is Oneonta Community Health Center, PO Box 361, Oneonta 13820; the e-mail address is info@oneontafreeclinic.org; and the website is www.oneontaclinic.org.