Las Vegas opening health center for homeless, low-income patients

The two-story clinic in the city of Las Vegas’ Courtyard Homeless Resource Center sat mostly empty Wednesday morning as workers added finishing touches in preparation for its upcoming opening.

But come Monday, Las Vegas officials hope that the Health &Wellness Center will become a “medical home” for those experiencing homelessness, and for low-income earners who live in the surrounding neighborhoods.

“Everything you would see in any other clinic, in any other part of the town is here,” said Jocelyn Bluitt-Fisher, the city’s community resources manager, during a tour of the facility.

The wellness center, located on 8,532 square feet on Main Street and Foremaster Lane, will be operated by Nevada Health Centers, a federally-accredited contractor. It will include exam rooms, a pharmacy and a lab to examine bloodwork.

A company spokesperson said that the center will be staffed by 17 employees, including a full-time advanced practice registered nurse and a per-diem physician assistant. Nevada Health Centers also is working to hire a full-time doctor.

The city has so far invested about $6.4 million in the facility, Bluitt-Fisher said.

It’s one of 10 health and wellness centers the city aims to develop across town, and the second that’s been built, Bluitt-Fisher said. Two more — one that will be located in the Historic Westside and another in east Las Vegas — are in the planning stages, she said.

The city conceptualized the system years ago when it began purchasing land with the intention of helping underserved residents “get back on their feet,” Bluitt-Fisher said.

The wellness center — which resembles an oversized “quick care” facility — will compliment a smaller clinic already operating in the courtyard, which serves as a triage for the shelter’s unhoused population.

The new clinic will also serve as an educational hub to prevent the patients from getting progressively ill.

“We’re focusing on wellness, not just medical treatment,” Bluitt-Fisher said. “We want them to have a relationship with a medical home before they get sick.”

She said that anyone who walks in the door will be served, regardless of economic situation or immigration status.

“If we can provide all those educational opportunities, remove some of the barriers that make health care a little scary,” Bluitt-Fisher said, “then we are on target to improving the health and wellness of our entire city.”

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.