Affinia Healthcare in Pagedale opened for business on Monday, May 22 to make health care more accessible to families in area communities. A grand opening took place on Friday, May 19. The new health clinic came about as a joint effort by Affinia and Beyond Housing by listening to the needs of residents.
“First and foremost, like everything else we do, we were driven by the community,” Chris Krehmeyer, president and CEO Beyond Housing told The American. “They told us early they did not have enough access to primary care – ‘we don’t have any place close by we can go to.’”
The 2,800 square-foot Pagedale health clinic, located at 6763 Page Ave., will have two medical providers and support staff who will be available six days a week. It is expected to serve about 2,600 patients each year, providing medical care and laboratory services for adults and children. The clinic will offer afternoon and evening hours as well as walk-in appointments.
The health center accepts Medicaid, Medicare, Gateway to Better Health and most commercial insurance plans.
“What I hope this turns into is that folks view this as their doctor’s office,” Krehmeyer said. “There is something powerful about when you have a doctor, just like middle-class folks, just like wealthy folks.”
Prior to the new clinic opening, the nearest clinics were a 30-minute bus ride away in Pine Lawn or Berkeley. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had designated Pagedale as a Health Professional Shortage Area, an area of greatest need.
Krehmeyer said they sought ways to make it happen in partnership with a Federally-Qualified Health Center (FQHC).
“Originally, it was going to be a St. Louis County Health Department site,” Krehmeyer said, “then that didn’t work out and I talked to a number of other FQHCs, who were kind of looking at the site and location and the complexities of the payer model and how they get reimbursed for their services.”
It was Affinia Healthcare that decided it could make the new clinic a reality.
In particular, Krehmeyer said Affinia wanted to be a part of the broader strategy that was in place for the 24:1 initiative, named for the 24 municipalities within the Normandy Schools Collaborative when the initiative was formed (two of the municipalities have since merged).
“They understood the grocery store, bank, senior building, movie theatre – we have the St. Louis County Children’s Services Fund right about them,” Krehmeyer said. “A lot of positive things are happening that Affinia would love to plug into and not just have it be a standalone health center, but actually have it connected to lots of other things.”
At the grand opening, Alan O. Freeman, president and CEO of Affinia Healthcare, said Affinia looks forward to serving the residents of 24:1.
“This new facility – Affinia Healthcare’s first outside of the City of St. Louis – expresses the organization’s mission of providing high-quality health care and exceptional service, while promoting healthy lifestyles,” Freeman said.
Affinia Healthcare invested $351,000 in the project construction with funds provided through grant funding, according to an Affinia spokesperson.
“This is attractive and powerful and this sends the right kind of message to folks in this community about their importance, the importance of getting to their health care home and having it be close by and in their neighborhood,” Krehmeyer said.
For an appointment, call 314-814-8700.
