The vision of the Rockbridge Area Health Center is to serve as a vital and caring resource, promoting and providing access to quality health care to build a healthier community.
The History
Our Vision
Our History
Anyone who has visited or lived in or around Rockbridge County knows it is an area of immense natural beauty coupled with cultural and intellectual opportunities. With its population of approximately 36,000 and three institutions of higher learning the location gives the appearance of wealth. The continued influx of new residents and retirees from all over the country tends to accentuate that appearance. However, beneath the appearance of wealth exists a substrata of significant poverty.
The City of Buena Vista has traditionally been and remains a working-class town with most jobs affiliated with industry. Rockbridge County, with the exception of the colleges, is primarily rural with an economy based on farming. Both ways of life have changed little over the past fifty years. Many of these residents are uninsured. In an attempt to meet the needs of the this segment of the population, the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic was established in the early 1990’s.
In 1992 a group of concerned citizens began to develop the concept of a free clinic in Rockbridge County. They were able to organize interested medical and non-medical community volunteers in a project that became the Rockbridge Area Free Clinic. The first clinic was located in the local public health department and continued to grow with the patients it served and the services it provided.
The Rockbridge Area Free Clinic, recognizing the need to further develop a sustainable system of care for the medically underserved in the Rockbridge area, applied for and was awarded an $80,000 Health Center Planning Grant by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. This grant was used to fund a 12-month project to broadly define and assess the health of our community and to develop a community health improvement plan.
Data from the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) in 2012 concluded that Buena Vista, Lexington, and Rockbridge County areas are designated as low-income and are therefore considered to be a ‘Medically Underserved Population’ and a ‘Primary Care Health Professional Shortage Area’. “Low-income” is defined by HRSA as an income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. In the Rockbridge area, 38 % of residents are low-income.
As a result of the CHNA, RAHC reopened as a Federally Qualified Health Center, which allowed for the expansion of medical, dental and behavioral health care services to the underinsured and insured, as well as the uninsured. Results of the 2015 CHNA can be found here.
[1] American Community Survey, 5-Year Estimates, US Census Bureau, 2006-2010 [2] Virginia Atlas of Community Health, 2011
Our Partners
We are proud to partner with other community agencies working towards a shared goal of building a healthier community.
Virginia Health Care Foundation
The Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) is a public/private partnership that helps uninsured Virginians and those who live in underserved communities receive medical, dental and mental health care. VHCF support helps free clinics, community health centers and others to expand both the types of care offered and the number of patients cared for each year.
Continued support from VHCF has been vital in the Health Center’s ability to serve as a safety net for our most vulnerable population. In 2013, funding from VHCF allowed us to hire a dentist. In 2015 and again in 2017, VCHF awarded the Health Center funding to create and significantly expand our Behavioral Health program. This funding will enable us to treat hundreds of additional patients with behavioral health needs each year. Most recently, we were able to hire a full-time dentist to provide comprehensive dental services to over 1,100 new patients at our second dental service site, Mountain View Family Dentistry, in Buena Vista.
Additional Partners
| Milestones along the way | |
|---|---|
| 1992 | Incorporated Began patient care |
| 1993 | Received non-profit status from IRS 5 service hours per week |
| 1994 | First Rick Mast Golf Tournament 5 service hours per week |
| 1995 | Hired executive director Received 3 year grant from VHCF to fund a nurse practitioner Received special grant from UW to fund a pharmacist Applied for UW member agency status Started a quarterly women’s health clinic 9 service hours per week |
| 1996 | Hired a nurse practitioner (8 hours per week) Held first annual fundraising campaign Added prescription services for Medicare 18 service hours per week |
| 1997 | Hired patient care coordinator (RN) NP grant expanded from 8 to 20 hours per week Started board designated endowment |
| 1998 | Hired administrative assistant Hired part time (20 hours) nurse practitioner Completed facility and services survey of other Free Clinics Adopted new Bylaws 24 service hours per week |
| 1999 | Received state funding for pharmacy expansion Board resolution passed to establish building fund 38 service hours per week |
| 2000 | Completed strategic plan Received additional state funding for pharmacy Received grant to establish dental services 38 service hours per week |
| 2001 | Started dental clinic Purchased property at 25 Northridge Lane |
| 2002 | Completed renovation plans and began work on new facility |
| 2003 | Moved into new clinic at 25 Northridge Lane in July Began using a patient data management system |
| 2004 | Completed a marketing strategy aimed at potential patients Became a participant in the RxPartnership Received pledges of $1,080,000 of the $1.1 Million capital campaign goal |
| 2005 | Launched website for the organization Completed strategic plan for the organization |
| 2006 | Received $50,000 for dental Received $61,000 grant from Carilion for capacity building Completed a needs assessment for the Rockbridge area |
| 2007 | Completed the four chair dental suite Held the First Annual Bull & Oyster Fest Completed a board assessment with the Virginia Tech Institute for Policy and Governance |
| 2008 | Grand opening of the dental suite |
| 2009 | Started pediatric dental program Started Group Medical Visits for diabetic patients Hired an additional part time registered nurse Hired a development director Hired a patient advocate coordinator |
| 2010 | Received a collaborative VHCF grant with RACSB to provide mental health services Instituted required patient administrative fees |
| 2011 | Awarded an $80,000 planning grant Opened on-site vision center Began community garden |
| 2012 | Completed a year-long comprehensive community health needs assessment Inaugural Gobble Wobble 5K to benefit the RAHC Awarded a 3 year VHCF grant to expand dental program, established the Rockbridge Regional Dental Clinic |
| 2013 | Changed name to Rockbridge Area Health Center Established a consumer majority board of directors Established an advisory committee Received a New Access Point Grant to become a Federally Qualified Health Center 40 service hours per week Hired a medical director |
| 2014 | Reopened as an FQHC Began seeing insured patients Began construction and renovation project Implemented an Electronic Medical Record Created a Compliance Program Established an Outreach and Enrollment Department |
| 2015 | Hired a 2nd dentist Hired a Dental Director Hired a Certified Diabetes Educator |
| 2016 | Hired a Pediatrician Hired a Clinical Director |
| 2017 | Became a Veteran's Choice provider Hired a 3rd dentist Hired a 3rd Counselor Hired a 2nd Pediatrician Added Family Planning services Added prenatal care in partnership with UVA Opened a second dental site- Mountain View Family Dentistry Received Patient-Centered Medical Home recognition Received Health Center Quality Improvement grant through HRSA Awarded $116,064 from VCHF to expand Behavioral Health Program |
| 2018 | Started a renovation and expansion of the current building to more than double the square footage. |
| 2019 | Office-Based Opioid Agonist Treatment (OBOT) program launched to provide quality treatment for individuals living with opioid Substance Use Disorder Hired 4th dentist 23,000 Square foot state-of-the-art renovation and expansion completed RAHC hosts Grand Opening event for expanded facility |
| 2020 | Integrated the national program ‘Reach Out and Read’ into each pediatric well-child visit Hired 4th mental health counselor to work with adults and is certified in anger management HIRED 5TH mental health counselor to work with children ages 5-18 Hired a team dedicated to COVID-19 testing Assembled team to oversee administering COVID-19 vaccine to community Expanded Telehealth services Added a physician and 2 physician assistants Hired a director of nursing Hired 3rd dental hygienist Received the highest level of recognition in Virginia from Health and Human Services for increasing the total number of patients served and number of patients receiving access to comprehensive services. Inaugural Palate, Plate & Pleasure virtual fundraising event Suzanne Sheridan, CEO recognized for 25 years of service to RAHC |
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