Holy Cross Hospital Expands Access to Health Care - Opens Primary Care Health Center in Gaithersburg

(Silver Spring, Maryland) - Holy Cross Hospital is continuing its commitment to serve the health care needs of the uninsured in Montgomery County with the opening of a new primary care health center in Gaithersburg. It is the second such clinic operated by the hospital and the location of the Gaithersburg facility (702 Russell Avenue) provides a convenient option for uninsured upcounty residents in need of high quality, free or discounted medical care.

There are 80,000 to 100,000 uninsured adults in Montgomery County. "Fifteen percent of the patients who visited the Holy Cross Health Center at Montgomery College in Silver Spring, traveled from Gaithersburg, Rockville or Montgomery Village," says Kevin J. Sexton, president and CEO of Holy Cross Hospital.

The Russell Avenue health center is located in a ZIP code with more socioeconomic and medical needs than every other ZIP code in Montgomery County except one. The new clinic will not only make quality health care more convenient for those currently utilizing Holy Cross Hospital services, but hopefully will encourage those who had difficulty making the trip to the Silver Spring health center to take advantage of health care services right in their own community.

"Helping the underserved is at the heart of the Holy Cross Hospital mission and there are a number of practical reasons to do this," Sexton adds, "but the bottom line is that without adequate resources and access to health care, many postpone seeing a health care provider until their medical problems reach critical levels, resulting in the need for more complex and expensive emergency room or inpatient care."

The development of the new 5,600 square foot facility was supported by Montgomery County government and partial operational funding will be provided by Montgomery County through Montgomery Cares and by Suburban Hospital. The clinic is staffed with mid level practitioners, a physician and nursing and support staff. "In our first year, we expect 5,000 encounters for services that include primary medical care, annual screenings, chronic disease management, behavioral health, preventive care and health education," says Calvin Robinson, executive director of community care delivery for Holy Cross Hospital.

Also in the works, a third health center in the Wheaton/Aspen Hill area. "We see this growth as an opportunity not only to expand access," says Roseanne Pajka, senior vice president of corporate development, "but also to create a stronger linkage of the primary care delivery system with our extensive community health programs, especially in chronic disease prevention and management."

Holy Cross Hospital Health Center at Gaithersburg


Opening Day for Patients: Tuesday, February 24, 2009


Eligibility: The health center will serve low-income uninsured adults. The clinic also will participate in Montgomery Cares, a public/private partnership that provides health care to low-income, uninsured Montgomery County residents through a network of clinics. Requirements for eligibility to Montgomery Cares are that a person be 18 years or over, have income under 250 percent of the federal poverty level, and live in Montgomery County. To schedule and appointment call 240-567-5600.