A grocery store in Ferguson now houses a full-service health clinic thanks to a collaboration between Centene Corporation/Home State Health, Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers and Schnucks Markets.
“We need health care. The population here needed access to easily affordable health care,” said Michael F. Neidorff, chairman and CEO of Centene. “It’s all part of creating the community, getting it back on its feet.”
Centene Charitable Foundation provided the initial $1.3 million investment for the clinic and will provide multi-year support for its operations. Schnucks donated the physical space for the clinic inside the store, and People’s provides staffing and medical services. It’s expected to serve approximately 8,000 patients annually.
The turnabout was swift as Schnucks announced early this year it was moving from its Cool Valley location on South Florissant Road into the former Shop-N-Save space at 49 N. Florissant Rd., at the corner of Airport Road in Ferguson. The area at the front of the store, previously a self-bagging area, became the perfect place to situate a health clinic.
“We created the space and built the four walls and enclosed it, and then Centene and People’s Health Care took it and outfitted it,” said Todd Schnuck, Schnucks Markets chairman and CEO. “It’s great for the health and well-being of the community and especially in an area where people may not get to a doctor as frequently as they should. If we can improve the health of the community, it makes it a better place to live.”
Medical services offered at the clinic include primary and urgent care for adults and children ages 3 and older, immunizations, labs, and dental services through its mobile unit.
“We will also have individuals who can help them get health insurance for their family if they don’t have it, connecting them to Gateway to Better Health, connecting them to the Affordable Care Act,” said Dwayne Butler, president and CEO at BJK People’s Health Centers.
Patients can get referrals to additional health services, such as Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) services, women’s health, X-rays, mammography and signing up for social services.
“One will come here because they know that People’s is here,” Butler said. “One is going to be a mom or a dad with a few children in-tow who come to buy a loaf of bread, and they will find out there is a health center here and our services will be able to connect them to getting primary care at one of our centers, if not here.”
Butler said potent partnerships like the one between Peoples, Schnucks and Centene will be critical to efforts to heal vulnerable communities in the area.
“They have an opportunity to meet up with some health resources that they probably otherwise wouldn’t have or they may have to go all the way across town to get to either the clinic at Berkeley or another health care facility,” said Ferguson Mayor James Knowles. “But it’s right here where they have to come every week to shop, and it gives them access and resources to help them connect with quality health care.”
The People’s clinic in the Ferguson Schnucks, 49 N. Florissant Rd., is open seven days a week, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
