Winn Community Health Center is now truly “Open for Business” at its spacious new facility at 407 W. Court Street in Winnfield as witnessed by the hundreds of well-wishers who gathered Monday for ceremony, speeches and tours. The dream had been building for years. Construction required two more years. But WCHC didn’t waste any time after Monday’s ribbon cutting and opened the doors of the three-story complex for customer services first thing Tuesday morning.
WCHC had actually been open for business since mid-2009 but that was in a small office with 5 employees. That has grown, under the umbrella of Trinity Community Health Centers of Louisiana, to 11 clinics in 7 parishes as well as numerous school-based clinics. In opening remarks, Toni McAllister lauded the vision and determination of CEO Deano Thornton in realizing the local gap in rural healthcare that has led to this “celebration of a stronger future for healthcare in our community.”
Melissa Pillars, a community development banker with JPMorgan Chase, echoed that sentiment when she described the story that inspired JPMorgan Chase to invest in this rural Louisiana project. She’d flown in from Chicago for Monday’s opening and related that years ago, Thornton’s son Barry was seriously injured in a car accident and how the family had struggled to access local care that accepted Medicaid.
“At that moment,” she told the gathering, “he made a decision that this isn’t right. And that moment mattered, because civic leadership often starts with one moment like that, when someone sees a problem clearly and decides not to accept it.” She pointed to the leadership, the persistence and the clear commitment from the community which convinced JPMorgan Chase to invest to build something stronger.
Thornton explained that piecing together the funding package for this $30 million project was most complicated than anything he’d faced before and took a good measure of cooperation as he thanked JPMorgan Chase, Community Business Investment Fund and Baker Tilly in the area of federal and state tax credits and the Rapides Foundation for ongoing support.
Thornton thanked the many who sat under the canopied tent or stood in the shadow of the three-story for their continued support, to the board’s trust in him, to the collaboration of medical providers including hospital organizations and to the many employees (identified by their aqua blue t-shirts). He thanked the organization’s leadership and reminded that crowd that WCHC is a not-for-profit with a mission to “Provide access to quality healthcare despite one’s ability to pay.” He cited Matthew 25:40.
The CEO thanked TBA Studio where lead architect Winn native Lisa Peddy Frontaura “took my vision and put it on paper, then Ratcliff Construction brought it to reality.” Frontaura was present with her team Angie Parish, Sha’Derrika Edwards, Megan Young-Isom, Donna Cathey, Melanie Moffett and Trinity Smith.
The building is designed both for “more patients to get the services they deserve and also for the comfort and convenience for employees.” Some 130 will be there on a regular basis. The first floor will feature the in-house pharmacy, primary care (with 20 exam rooms and 4 behavioral health rooms), chiropractic, podiatry, radiology, warehouse plus a break room and patio for employees.
The escalator leads to the second floor which includes physical therapy with Winnfield PT Tyler Pyles and Doug James, dental department and optometry (hoped for soon), plus a break room with balcony. The third floor is administration, though it was open for the public walk-through Monday. Included departments are finance, credentialing, billing, medical records, board room, C-Suite offices, IT department, chronic care management, a large training center and the “Fleur de Lis Café” plus the break room with balcony.
The board gathered at the front door, the ribbon was cut and the viewing began.
That board includes chair Toni McAllister, vice chair Andre Bass, secretary Cindy Jamison, Kaye Pyles, Rhonda Deloach, Brent Hubbard, Brenda Jones, Stanley King, Marianne Little, Glenda Melton, June Melton, Tenico Myers, Katrina Nichols and Katina Smith. Legacy Members are Ellen Russell, Betty Ashley, Alma Hobdy, Everlean Gibson and Mike Tinnerello.
TCHC and TCHC of Louisiana board of directors includes chairman Deano Thornton, secretary/treasurer Mallorie Gardner, Gerald Hamms, Josh McAllister, Katie Parnell and Matthew Walton.
