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They include:
• Drs. Mike Tracy and Bob Chandler, both family practitioners, left Powell Valley Healthcare in July and opened their own clinic, 307Health. Based on a direct primary care model, patients at 307Health pay a monthly fee based on …
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Health care is changing at the national level, and in Powell as well.
More changes in the Powell health care system occurred in 2015 than took place in the previous two or three decades.
They include:
• Drs. Mike Tracy and Bob Chandler, both family practitioners, left Powell Valley Healthcare in July and opened their own clinic, 307Health. Based on a direct primary care model, patients at 307Health pay a monthly fee based on their ages and are given access to doctors via cell phone, email and text in addition to clinic visits.
• Heritage Health Center, a federally funded community health center, opened in September after receiving a funding grant in early May. The two-year grant provided $700,000 for the first year and $650,000 for the second year.
Heritage Health Center is run by a local board and offers reduced-cost medical care on a sliding-fee scale, based on each patient’s household income. Plans are in the works to offer dental and mental health care as well.
• Heart Mountain Volunteer Medical Clinic announced it would close its doors in Powell after Heritage Health Center opened. The Powell office of the volunteer clinic began winding down in September and officially closed Oct. 31. The Cody branch continues to provide free care for patients with household incomes under the federal poverty level and without other health care options.
• Powell Valley Hospital began a hospitalist program in which emergency room doctors rotate to care for inpatients at the hospital.
The hospitalist program frees up primary care doctors to see patients at Powell Valley Clinic and makes doctors more accessible for patients and nurses in the hospital. It also makes it easier to recruit new doctors and other medical providers.
• To explain the new services and changes in Powell’s health care, Powell Economic Partnership and the Northwest College Center for Training and Development organized a health care forum, “Powell Docs Talk.” The event was well-attended, and more forums may be held to provide additional answers to questions about health care in Powell.
