History of The Lakes Community Health Center
Since September of 2005, residents have worked cooperatively to establish a Community Health Center to serve the northwest Wisconsin. Representatives applied for and received a planning grant to study the feasibility of opening a Community Health Center (CHC). Under the auspices of this grant, a community based advisory board was established that grew and became a governing board. This board, 51% of which planned to be CHC patients, was formally established on May 7th, 2008. With the support of many area partners, the board moved forward very quickly to respond to an opportunity to submit a New Access Point Application to the federal government to create Wisconsin’s newest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Originally called Bayfield County Community Health Center, the name was quickly changed to The Lakes Community Health Center (The Lakes) to reflect its broader goal to serve Bayfield, Ashland, Douglas and Iron counties.
The purpose of all FQHCs is to provide comprehensive primary care in communities where people have had trouble getting the health care they need due to financial, geographic or cultural barriers. Our job is to work to remove those barriers through our locations and the services we provide. Like The Lakes, FQHCs are often located in rural areas with sparse populations and high numbers of uninsured or underinsured people. We offer medical, dental, mental/behavioral health and patient support services. One of the distinctive services offered by Community Health Centers is a Sliding Fee Scale, which helps to make services affordable for lower income patients.
After receiving notice in September of 2007 that the grant had been awarded, a 120-day clock to become operational began ticking. Once an organization receives a grant notification, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) allows only four short months for grantees to have a program up and running. The highly committed board again sprang into action. Cognizant of the great difficulty of moving from a paper-start without any resources to a fully functional clinic in four months, the board met weekly or even more often for many months. They hired a part time interim Executive Director who in turn contracted with a part time Medical Director, Dr. John Schrock, who could help with oversight and policy creation, but did not see patients. A full time RN served as Clinical Coordinator and saw to the setting up and outfitting of the clinic. After a quick remodel of a building, The Lakes opened the doors of its medical clinic in Iron River in late January of 2008. Temporary medical providers were used for the first few months until a part time Physician Assistant and some Nurse Practitioners were hired. The Lakes offered case management services: primarily to assist patients and community members to enroll in benefit programs such as Medicaid, housing assistance, food stamps and other supports. Clinical services were very limited for the first year.
Because of the critical need for dental services in this area, especially for Medicaid/BadgerCare recipients, the Board began planning to open a dental clinic almost immediately. The search for a Dentist/Dental Director proved easier than the search for a full time Physician/Medical Director, and Dr. Christina Sopiwnik signed a contract in September of 2008, planning to join The Lakes in the spring of 2009.
In November of 2008, The Lakes hired a permanent full time Executive Director, Reba Rice [LINK TO: > About > Our Staff > Reba Rice]. A management team was formed, and the organization began to grow in earnest. The dental clinic opened in Ashland in March of 2009 and was immediately overrun with patients. Because very few other dentists in the area take many Medicaid patients, the Board decided to focus on children with BadgerCare and emergency dental for any and all patients because this strategy offers the best opportunity to make a lasting impact on the oral health of the area. A waiting list was started on the second day. With one dentist, there was little hope of seeing that diminish. So, in the fall of 2010, The Lakes began recruitment of a 2nd dentist. Following some temporary providers, Dr. Erin Cutler permanently joined the practice in December of 2011.
In the fall of 2009, The Lakes was finally able to recruit a full time Physician/Medical Director. Dr. Deborah Dryer, a Family Physician who had been practicing in the area for six years, joined the organization. Since that time, medical services at the clinic in Iron River have expanded significantly to include comprehensive lab services, radiology (X-Ray), extended morning and evening hours, a limited pharmacy, many procedures such as colposcopy and Physical Therapy. Dr. A.A. (Joe) Koeller joined the practice part time in July of 2011 and Heidi Dumas, a Family Medicine Nurse Practitioner, was hired (full time) in February 2012.
Mental/Behavioral Health Services are a critical part of the kind of comprehensive primary care offered by Community Health Centers. For its first 2 years, The Lakes offered this important services via partnership with Ashland and Bayfield Counties. But it was clear to the Board that this would not meet the need. In July of 2010, Dr. Dave Beeksma, a Licensed Psychologist, was brought on board to develop a program. He provides counseling, psychological evaluation and assessment services. In January of 2012, The Lakes added John Sopiwnik as a second therapist.
