IRON RIVER, WI | Staff Report- Green Bay Press | March 11, 2019
Original article can be found at: https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com
IRON RIVER – A health care provider with offices in Oconto, Lakewood and White Lake has merged with NorthLakes Community Clinic.
The trio of clinics had been operated by Northern Health Centers, which said it needed to find a partner to provide more depth in the back-end aspects of running a community health center, such as human resources, information technology, billing and marketing.
“Merging with NorthLakes Community Clinic allows us to continue serving the people of northeast Wisconsin, while having additional resources available to improve overall patient experience and stabilize our future,” said Shelly White, who had served as Northern Health Centers’ CEO.
Patients will notice few changes, other than communication and billing now coming from NorthLakes Community Clinic, and the co-pay for the lowest income patients is being eliminated, according to a news release.
The White Lake, Oconto and Lakewood locations will remain open and continue to provide the same services: dental in Oconto, medical in White Lake, and dental, medical and behavioral health in Lakewood.
The Northern Health Centers staff, including White, are continuing with NorthLakes as well. The merged entity has about 350 employees, though additional dental, medical and mental health providers and other staff are expected to be hired.
NorthLakes Community Clinic is a federally qualified health center, as was Northern Health Centers.
Federally qualified health centers are community-based organizations that provide comprehensive primary care and preventive care, including health, oral and mental health/substance abuse services to people of all ages, regardless of their ability to pay or health insurance status.
As part of this merger, under- or uninsured patients who qualify for the first level of the sliding fee scale will now pay no copay, according to the news release. Prior to the merger, their copay was $20.
“As a regional community health center, we are also exploring ways to actively remove barriers to care,” said NorthLakes Community Clinic CEO Reba Rice. “This merger provides an opportunity to ensure patients in northeast Wisconsin have access to high-quality, affordable care. We strongly believe everyone deserves access to care and are always looking for ways to achieve that mission.”
Based in Iron River, NorthLakes Community Clinic also has clinic locations in Ashland, Balsam Lake, Birchwood, Hayward, Iron River, Minong, Park Falls, Turtle Lake and Washburn. The nonprofit organization is managed by a patient-majority board of directors. Services provided include medical, chiropractic, dental, behavioral health counseling including substance use disorder and recovery services, psychiatric services, pediatric speech and occupational therapy, physical therapy, and prescriptions for patients. Resource coordinators and health insurance navigators are also on staff to assist patients and others.
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