Wayne Community Health Center opened for medical service on April 3, 1978 with one provider and one worker. The project director estimated 3 patients per day would make the project a success. The first day the center opened there were 8 patients seen and the center has continued growing ever since. We are located in a high mountain valley very isolated and far from the city life. Long distances between small townships and wide open country are common in our area. Patients have to drive long distances for hospital services. We provide a wide variety of services and serve almost 4,000 patients now and last year had 15,000 encounters. We currently have dentists in other areas telling their Medicaid patients that they will no longer see them and sending them to us. Services routinely provided include preventive, acute and emergency medical care, comprehensive dental services, management of chronic conditions for prenatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult and geriatric patients, and diagnostic laboratory and radiology services. WCHC realizes that health is more than the absence of disease and we have integrated behavioral health services and traditional counseling services into our primary care services at the center. The clinic has made a tremendous impact since its inception, reflected in the voices of the community: “I have lived in this community since 1974 before the clinic was established. I had a year old child in 1976 that had a respiratory illness and difficulty breathing. I had to drive over an hour through a mountain pass at 8000 ft in the winter to the nearest emergency room. It was terrifying as a new mother with a small child not knowing if you would make it to help and having your baby in distress.” Today with the clinic, pharmacy and staff most problems can be addressed here in our community, saving our patients both worry and
countless dollars in travel and emergency room costs. Wayne Community Health Center is also an economic engine for our community. We now have 40 employees and contribute to the local economy in many indirect ways.
