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REGIONAL VIEW shenandoah valley After 30 years, The Free Clinic


will shut its doors by Beth JoJack


H


arrisonburg’s The Free Clinic will go out of business at the end of December


after providing medical care to low- income, uninsured adults for more than 30 years. “We’ve taken care of patients.


We’ve made our community a healthier place, and we’re happy about that,” says Joshua Hale, president of the clinic’s board of directors. “Even though we’re closing, it has been a great thing.” Board members made the unani- mous decision to close the nonprofit clinic because of the one-two combo of the pandemic and a decreasing number of patients. The decrease in patients is


largely the result of Virginia’s 2019 Medicaid expansion, which includes adults ages 19 to 64 whose incomes fall within 138% of the federal poverty line. The clinic had about 600 patients before the expansion; it had about 90 patients afterward. Board members responded by widening patient eligibility requirements so that patients who make up to 300% of the federal poverty level — regardless of their citizenship status — could be treated by the clinic, according to Summer Sage, the clinic’s executive director. Previously, patients could make no more than 200% of the federal poverty level. By March 2020, the clinic was serving about 400 patients and had about 80 volunteers.


After the pandemic hit, the clinic’s leadership suspended volunteer staffing for safety reasons, prompting the board to begin assessing whether operations could continue. “It’s not the most fun decision to make,” Hale admits. The clinic’s last day to see patients was Nov. 20. The Free Clinic’s staff is working with patients to transfer their health records to other facilities. Lisa Bricker, executive director of the Harrisonburg Community Health Center


(HCHC), predicts her facility will absorb most of The Free Clinic’s patients. As a federally qualified health center, HCHC provides care to everyone, regardless of whether they are insured, and offers income-based sliding-fee scales. “We care for CEOs. We care for [James Madison University] professors and we care


for the homeless,” Bricker says. “Everyone receives the same level of care.” In 2019, the HCHC saw almost 16,000 patients, Bricker says. She doesn’t expect


adding 400 additional patients will strain the center’s resources. Four full-time staff members and 10 part-time staff members at The Free Clinic will lose their jobs with the closing. “I think they are doing what they can to reach out and look for other opportunities,” Hale says.


12 | DECEMBER 2020


Executive Director Summer Sage and board President Joshua Hale say a decreasing number of patients led to The Free Clinic’s closure.


FOR THE RECORD


Virginia Beach-based Armada Hoffler Properties, owner of the Harrisonburg Regal movie theater property, announced plans in late October to redevelop the site for “a major multifamily component” as well as restaurants and retail. Regal announced on its website in early October that the chain would close theaters until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On Oct. 26, Armada Hoffler announced it had terminated its lease with the cinema chain. The Harrisonburg Regal property is 9.5 acres and valued at $9.35 million — more than $3.7 million for the land alone, according to Harrisonburg city records. The cinema was built in 1999. (Daily News-Record)


Bridgewater College’s board of trustees approved recommendations in November that will eliminate programming and result in 40 faculty and staff layoffs. The layoffs will take effect on June 30, and severance packages will be given. Bridgewater will also phase out major programs in applied chemistry, French, mathematics, nutritional science, philosophy and religion, and physics, as well as restructure its equestrian program. (Daily News-Record)


Researchers at James Madison University received grants this summer to learn more about the early development of the brain and the possible causes of neurological disorders such as autism or Asperger syndrome. A $423,675 grant from the National Institutes of Health is funding research into early developmental issues in children. An additional $1 million grant from NIH will assist research into early brain development. With the grants, researchers will attempt to figure out the causes of these seemingly random disorders and how to treat or lessen their effects. (The Breeze)


Shenandoah Memorial Hospital was preparing in early November to begin work on the second phase of a multiyear master facility plan to upgrade the 69-year-old hospital in Woodstock. Phase Two is set to cost around $3.5 million and will be completed by summer 2021. It will include a larger physician and therapy gym, additional treatment rooms, enhanced areas for speech therapy and wound therapy, dedicated pediatric therapy space, as well as upgrades to building systems to comply with current codes and standards. (The Northern Virginia Daily)


As of mid-November, Winchester, Frederick County and Clarke County public schools were seeking new health insurance coverage amid unresolved contract negotiations between Valley Health System and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield. The school divisions currently offer Anthem to their employees. Valley Health operates Winchester Medical Center and five other hospitals in the region, in addition to numerous other health care facilities. If a deal isn’t reached by the end of the year, people with Anthem or related Blue Cross Blue Shield policies will be out-of-network at Valley Health facilities, resulting in higher out- of-pocket costs for medical care. Failure to reach an agreement would affect about 40,000 people, including local government workers. (The Winchester Star)


In November, the General Assembly allocated $1 million for an independent investigation of alleged racist practices at Virginia Military Institute, following media exposés by The Roanoke Times and The Washington Post. In an Oct. 19 letter, Gov. Ralph Northam and top state legislators announced that they were “directing an independent, third-party review of VMI culture, policies, practices and equity in disciplinary procedures” by a “nonpartisan, national organization.” One week later, the school’s superintendent, retired U.S. Army Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III, resigned. (Richmond Times-Dispatch, VirginiaBusiness.com)


Photo by Norm Shafer


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