MOLINE, Illinois — A local health care provider is changing how patients get preventative treatment. Community Health Care opened a new part of its Moline clinic Monday, April 12th. Officials say the clinic's 'sick wing' meets the needs presented by the pandemic.
"Just over a year ago, COVID-19 turned healthcare on its head," CEO Tom Bowman says. "We knew last spring that we needed an option to see patients indoors, but also provide safety and mitigation from exposure."
The sick wing is equipped with three exam rooms designed as airborne infection isolation rooms with its own HVAC and air purification system. Illinois Representative Cheri Bustos toured the clinic and calls its features "critically important."
"You're going to hear those stories in building after building after building, around not just Rock Island County, but all counties in Illinois, Iowa (and) everywhere in this nation," she says.
The entire project cost nearly half a million dollars. $150,000 of the project was funded by Expanding Capacity for Coronavirus Testing program through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"If you look at contagious viruses that we don't even know about today, CHC is well suited to be ready for that as well," Rep. Bustos says.
Once the pandemic is over, the sick wing will turn into an express care clinic to continue patient care.
"(Patients) are the reason we get out of bed every morning and do the work we do," Bowman says.
The wing also has a different entrance from the rest of clinic and a dedicated patient waiting area.