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CHAMPAIGN — For nearly two decades, the Champaign County Christian Health Center has been serving low-income patients who might otherwise go without medical, mental health and dental care.
Now, for the first time ever, this free clinic has a place to call home in a building of its own.
The organization has bought a building at 1401 S. State St., C, about two blocks north of Kirby Avenue, and is in the midst of getting it ready to open next month.
The health center, which is currently in a temporary location at First United Methodist Church of Urbana, has been in at least four locations since 2004.
Its mission is providing primary medical, mental health and dental care to low-income, uninsured patients and those who have insurance plans with big coverage gaps.
The center’s care providers are largely doctors, nurses and others who volunteer their time.
“We catch the folks who fall through the cracks,” said Jeff Trask, the health center’s founder who currently also serves as its operations director.
The new building will have a waiting area, a nurse’s station and lab area, three exam rooms and two dental stations all in about 2,200 square feet of space, said Trask and Executive Director Crystal Hogue.
Dental care has been on hold since early in the pandemic, but will become available again in the new building, they said.
The health center also offers pharmacy assistance, helping patients find free sources of medications they need, and it refers patients in need of specialty care to Carle Health. Because all the patients are low-income, they qualify for Carle’s charity care program, Hogue and Trask said.
The “Christian” part of the health center’s name is also part of the mission. Patients are offered prayer with volunteers and some providers — though, Trask said, non-Christian patients can and do decline, and their wishes are respected.
Hogue said one hope for the new location is to be able to expand mental-health care and add more hours, including some daytime hours.
Patients are currently seen in the evening on every second and fourth Tuesday and Wednesday of the month.
The health center served 934 patients last year, according to its annual report.
Hogue said a team from the health center has also started outreach to the new City of Champaign Township Strides shelter for the homeless and to those re-entering the community after being released from prison.
Hogue and Trask would like to serve even more patients, they said.
After nearly two decades in operation, Trask said, “some people don’t know we exist.”
The health center bought its new building for $530,000. The down payment was covered through fundraising, and further fundraising remains to help pay off the mortgage, Hogue said.
The health center also needs more volunteers, she said. That includes more providers, more people to help patients with paperwork, more spiritual care team members and more volunteers to help with building maintenance.
The volunteer work is a great option for retirees willing to help out, Hogue said.
“It’s really a joy to be able to serve these patients,” she said.
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