Health center will provide an array of new services to East Bank patients

Jonathan Menard

The 28,000 square-foot St. Charles Community Health Center will have an adult day care center while also providing primary care for children and adults.

A 28,000 square-foot facility in Norco that will provide healthcare, dentistry, adult day care and behavioral services will have its grand opening on Friday, June 22.

The new two-story St. Charles Community Health Center is located on the corner of Cathy Road and River Road. The facility will provide adult and pediatric primary healthcare, which includes prostate exams, Pap smears, pre-employment physicals, family planning, diabetic education, school and sports physicals, immunizations, chronic disease management and regular check-ups. There will be two physicians and a full nursing staff available during clinic hours.

The dentistry unit consists of three exam chairs and an X-ray machine, while the adult day care will be open from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. from Monday through Friday and will offer care for seniors who are frail, disabled or in need of socialization.

The cost of the adult day care program is $40 a day and transportation is available.

"This service is for those who don’t feel comfortable leaving disabled or frail adults home by themselves while they work or run errands," Julia Bodden, a spokeswoman for the health center, said. "It’s a need in our area and a lot of people don’t know that we offer this service."

The health center will also have a behavioral health counseling program with counselors on site. Additional services offered at the center include Medicaid registration and medication assistance programs.

In the fall, the center plans to offer specialty services as well as a drive thru WIC service. WIC is a federal assistance program for the healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants and children under the age of five.

The clinic will accept all major insurance along with Medicaid and Medicare. For patients who don’t have insurance, their fee will be based on their income level.

Patients from St. Charles, St. John and St. James parishes will all be able to use the center.

The health center would like to use the second floor as a community gathering spot for events such as community meetings, exercise classes or back-to-school bashes, but officials are awaiting grant funding, Bodden said.

The St. Charles Community Health Center has been trying to build a new clinic on the East Bank for years and received grant money for a new facility from a U.S. Health Resources and Services program. The grant will pay $1.3 million in operating money over the next two years and two acres on the corner of Cathy Road and River Road were donated by Shell. Valero also donated $400,000 towards construction of the facility, which broke ground in December of 2010.

"This has been in the making for a long time and we are excited to finally see it come to fruition," Bodden said.