Good-bye, Volunteers in Medicine. Hello, VIMCare.
A new name for the medical clinic, established 20 years ago for the uninsured, is just part of the transformation for the organization.
The most obvious change will be a new location. After being headquartered near 10th Street and Marr Road for the past two years, the VIMCare Clinic will open Sept. 7 in the former emergency room facilities at Columbus Regional Hospital.
The space became available after the county-owned hospital opened a new $16 million emergency department in May, but it may not be a permanent solution.
“They really don’t know. But at least for the next two to five years, the clinic will be at the hospital,” said Carl Lienhoop, Bartholomew County commissioner.
The clinic has adopted a new business model that will enable VIMCare to treat people with or without health insurance, said Julie Abedian, vice president of community partnerships and corporate responsibility at Columbus Regional Health.
“From the patient standpoint, there will be very little, if any, cost,” Abedian said. “But it won’t be free care. It will be reimbursed care.”
An anticipated 70 percent of funding will come from state and federal health care reimbursement programs, said Larry Kleinhenz, another Bartholomew County commissioner.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Republic.
