BUCYRUS—The Bucyrus Health and Wellness Center recently celebrated one year in operation, opening on Jan. 6, 2020, just two months before life changed for everyone as restrictions were put in place to protect people from COVID-19.
“The pandemic has affected all of our locations in some fashion or another. Overall, patient visits were down, particularly in mid-2020. The Bucyrus office also had a provider leave around that time which affected our ability to provide care in that location for the second quarter of the year; however, we are rebounding,” said Peggy Anderson, president and CEO of Third Street Family Health Services that opened the center in the Community Counseling building in Bucyrus one year ago.
She said that during the first quarter of 2020, 177 patients visited the center, and in the last quarter of 2020, 220 patient visits were completed.
“Throughout the year, we saw 252 unique patients,” Anderson said.
She said the center in Bucyrus offers primary care services and Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT).
“We are working on introducing telehealth options for patients to have access to other services such as psychiatry or have access to providers at other locations if a provider is out for a day. We will have this running later in 2021,” said Anderson.
All of the Third Street locations bill for services and the revenue received is applied to the cost of running the office. The Bucyrus location is part of Third Street’s Federally Qualified Health Center designation which includes all 10 clinical sites and provides access to federal grant dollars to provide care to patients in the communities being served.
“Community Health Centers have a mission to care for all in our community including those without the ability to pay. Those grant dollars help us provide that care,” said Anderson.
She said the pandemic has affected all healthcare providers in regards to personal protective equipment, including masks, gloves, and gowns, costing up to three times the pre-pandemic amount, and in some cases, products have been hard to find.
Testing for COVID-19 is available at all of the Third Street locations currently.
“Thankfully, we received 100 COVID-19 vaccines for Bucyrus for this week and expect 100 doses next week. Call the office to schedule a vaccine visit if you fall within the eligibility requirements,” said Anderson.
Anderson said there are a total of 10 locations, including the Bucyrus center and offices in Mansfield, Ontario and Shelby. The centers offer a variety of services, such as behavioral health, dental, OB/GYN, women’s care, medical, pediatrics, and podiatry.
To make an appointment at the Bucyrus Health and Wellness Center, which is located at 2458 Stetzer Road, Suite A, Bucyrus, call the office at 419-834-8889. To check out all of the services offered, visit the website for more information.