This news item expired on Sunday, November 29, 2009 so the information below could be outdated or incorrect.
Buncombe County has reached an agreement with Western North Carolina Community Health Services (WNCCHS) that will improve access to primary care for adults and children in the County. Patients will be transitioned from the Buncombe County Health Center to WNCCHS in early January 2010. Current patients of the Health Center will automatically become patients of WNCCHS.
As a federally qualified health center, WNCCHS has access to enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, federal financial support for the care of the indigent and uninsured, and reduced pricing for medications. The County will also support the organization to increase/improve access for more residents.
WNCCHS has been providing health care in the community for 15 years. They will provide integrated health services including primary medical care, behavioral health care and dental care to children and their families at the Minnie Jones Campus in West Asheville and to adults at 257 Biltmore Avenue, a new location for the agency.
The transition of primary care services will allow the Health Center, which will be renamed the Buncombe County Department of Health, to shift its focus to address the public health needs of the community. The Department will continue to provide:
- women’s health services including prenatal care, family planning, breast and cervical cancer programs
- community-based services including school health services, nurse family partnership services, case management for pregnant women and children, and WIC
- communicable disease services including immunizations, tuberculosis prevention and control, sexually transmitted disease services and disease investigation and control
- health promotion services
- preparedness and response efforts