Free Health Clinic to offer mental health services
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| From left are Jean Nelson, Northern Neck Free Health Clinic executive director; Bob Ritchey, Middle Peninsula-Northern Neck Community Services Board therapist; and Dr. Ann Kingsbury, Northern Neck Free Health Clinic medical director. |
Through a grant from the Virginia Health Care Foundation, the Northern Neck Free Health Clinic (NNFHC) has partnered with the Middle Peninsula-Northern Neck Community Services Board (CSB) to provide on-site counseling two-and-a-half days each week for the unserved and under-insured of Lancaster, Middlesex, Northumberland, Richmond and Westmoreland counties. This partnership also provides CSB patients who live in these five counties with a medical home.
The grant, titled “A New Lease on Life,” focuses on people with anxiety and depression. Patients will receive short-term, goal-oriented counseling provided by an experienced therapist from the CSB. At the same time, those patients requiring medication will be monitored by clinic physicians and will receive their prescriptions in conjunction with therapy.
“We are so grateful to the Virginia Health Care Foundation for giving us the opportunity to expand our services beyond the dental, pharmacy and medical clinics,” said Jean Nelson, clinic executive director. “Working with the CSB in this capacity is a wonderful opportunity for patients to have increased access to quality care, something that is fundamental to both our mission at the clinic and the mission of the CSB. It is a fantastic partnership and will provide enormous benefit to our patients.”
O’Connell W. McKeon, director of clinical services for the CSB, said, “Formalizing this relationship with the NNFHC enables us to expand our services and provide our patients with a medical home where they will be able to receive not just counseling, but also care for chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease. It is truly a wonderful initiative on the part of the Virginia Health Care Foundation.”
