Cornerstone Care invites public to open house
MT. MORRIS — Cornerstone Care’s Primary Care Center of Mt. Morris will officially christen its new state-of-the-art, two-story, 12,000 square foot, $1.4 million facility today with a special open house that is open to the public.
From 2 to 6 p.m. today, the public is invited to drop in at the new center, which is located just off the Mt. Morris exit of Interstate 79. Informal guided tours will be offered during the entire open house, and employees will also be positioned at various parts of the building to answer questions and explain the Center’s services.
A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony with special guests has been slated to begin at 3:30 p.m.
Besides rubbing elbows with elected officials such as state Sen. Tim Solobay, staff from U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s office and the Greene County commissioners, visitors will also be able to enjoy complimentary food and desserts prepared by two caterers. Because the center has a working relationship with Greene County Artisans, visitors will also be able to view an exhibit of art works that enhance the appearance of the building.
Following the public open house, employees from all eight Cornerstone Care centers are invited to attend a 6;30 p.m. closed reception.
The new facility actually opened on Aug. 15, fully capable of providing medical services. However, the building is also designed to provide dental services, but the dental equipment they ordered didn’t arrive until the week of Nov. 28.
“We didn’t want to schedule a ribbon cutting ceremony until the dental practice was fully equipped and up and running,” said Bob MtJoy, CEO of Cornerstone Care. “Although there are some odds and ends that still need to be completed in the dental department, Dr. Greg Montgomery saw his first patient this past Monday.”
Cornerstone Care, a family practice facility, provides a range of services that include primary care, on-site laboratory services, the dispensing of sample medications, dental care and behavioral health care services. The center accepts Medicare, Medicaid and people that have no health insurance whatsoever. The latter can receive care on a sliding fee basis, depending on family size and income. Additionally, the center can also help uninsured patients with a substantially reduced cost of their prescriptions.
“One of the things we do, not only at Mt. Morris but in all our locations, is offer low income patients who meet our eligibility requirements discounts on all services including medication by going to one of our participating pharmacies,” MtJoy said.
Founder Mona Counts, a nurse practitioner, started providing health care services 20 years ago in a Mt. Morris facility not originally designed for the purpose of health care delivery.
“The new center is the culmination of Mona’s dream,” said MtJoy. “This is something the community has been raising funds for for years, and everyone is very excited by the opening.”
When Counts opened the facility, she said her goal was to bring health care to the rural, under-served area after Dr. Brooks, a local physician, retired.
“I opened the practice with the blessing of Jeannie Roush Russell, owner of Roush Motors of Mt. Morris, who helped us find our original space and became chair of the board after we became a non-profit,” Counts said.
Counts was told that the original facility had once been a feed store, then a used car operation, then an auto parts store. In 1994, the auto parts store owner rented Counts two rooms to begin her practice, and, as she kept getting more and more patients, she kept renting more and more rooms.
“Known as the Primary Care Center of Mt. Morris, we were the first all nurse practitioner facility in the nation,” Counts said. “Now there are over 3,000 totally nurse practitioner facilities in the nation.”
From 1999 on, the facility has partnered with Penn State University, where Counts currently holds the position of Eloise Rose Eberly Professor for the School of Nursing.
In 2003, the center became a federal quality health care center. Then, on Aug. 15, it merged with Cornerstone Care to maximize the services it could deliver.
“When we were looking for land for the new center, John Howard offered us a site at a discounted price we could afford,” Counts said. “Others who helped us immensely are state representative Bill DeWeese, retired State Rep. Barry Stout, and all three county commissioners.”
One of the bright spots in America’s health care system, health centers provide a health care home to over 23 million people at 8,000 sites nationwide. Their model of care was rated one of the most effective programs by the President’s Office of Management and Budget. Presidents and members of Congress from both parties have long-recognized the value of health centers and supported their expansion.
Over the next five years, health centers are on track to expand their care to 40 million people, which is evident locally by Cornerstone Care’s most recent expansion efforts.
With more health care homes in communities, health care costs and unnecessary hospitalizations and visits to the hospital emergency rooms can be reduced. According to the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), there are 60 million people in the country with limited or no access to primary care providers — a trend that shows no sign of improving with the economic recession.
Currently, Cornerstone Care maintains a total of ten centers in the Southwestern Pennsylvania counties of Greene, Fayette and Washington, which includes a mobile medical and dental van. The organization has been around for almost 35 years and maintains its main office in Greensboro, the site of its original health center.
“It’s been heartwarming to see how the community has come together to make the new facility in Mt. Morris happen,” MtJoy said. “There’s a lot of curiosity on the part of the public to see the new building, and we’re inviting them in today for a look around.”
Cornerstone Care’s new community health center is located at 120 Locust Avenue Extension in Mt. Morris. For more information, call 724-324-9001.