Community project funding/congressionally directed spending - construction - whiteside county community health clinic (wcchc) has been serving the needs of the community since 2006

Providing affordable health care that meets the community's needs through a multidisciplinary approach, wcchc is a traditional health department, with an fqhc within providing primary medical, dental, and BH clinics as well as a medicated assisted treatment (mat) program. This unique model allows a holistic and collaborative approach to community health care. The community health clinic serves patients both within whiteside county as well as surrounding areas. Approximately 50% of the patients have medicaid and approximately 19% have no insurance at all. Wcchc also serves the majority of the hispanic population in our area as wcchc provides culturally appropriate services and is the "go-to "in the hispanic community. Wcchc recognizes the increased need, perhaps now more than ever, for accessible healthcare for a medically underserved population. Wcchc has continued to expand since its inception. This year wcchc expanded its mat program to the neighboring county to assist in combating the ongoing opioid crisis. Past expansions have included a behavioral health addition, additional dental suites including a handicap accessible suite and additional waiting and registration areas, and a larger billing and coding suite. Wcchc will use this funding to construct a 1,880 square foot addition to our main location. This space will allow US to introduce new and much needed services to our community. The american optometric association stated that less than 3% of americans who utilize fqhc's were able to access eye/vision health care in a 2019 survey. Wcchc would like to address the significant barriers many patients face when seeking vision/eye health care. Like many communities across america, whiteside county has only a few options for vision care and most do not accept medicaid or have sliding fee scale programs for the uninsured. The underserved population of whiteside county seeks services at our clinic for their other health care needs. Adding this additional service will expand our ability to meet our patient needs especially the 13% of our patients who have a diagnoses of diabetes for whom regular eye health care is imperative.