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New Health Clinic Opens in West Valley City to Meet Growing Need

West Valley City

Health officials are cutting the ribbon Wednesday on a new clinic in West Valley City intended to provide a medical home for those who are uninsured or underserved.

Before the federal Affordable Care Act, one in five people in West Valley City did not have health insurance. Now more of them are getting insurance, but that doesn’t necessarily give them easy access into the healthcare system.

“There is a need as we increase an individuals’ ability to get into the system, to have more providers to serve individuals,” says Gary Edwards, Executive Director for the Salt Lake County Health Department. He says the need for high quality, low cost care in West Valley outpaces available resources. And there are low-income Utahns who remain uninsured. “In Utah, we’re still wrestling with the Medicaid expansion idea and proposals, and so there are still a fair number in communities throughout Utah without that insurance access.”

The new clinic is located in the Salt Lake County Ellis Shipp Public Health Center. It’s operated with federal funds by Community Health Centers, Inc. and provides a “medical home” for over 2,800 patients. Services include screenings, immunizations, prenatal care, well child visits, and referrals to specialty services.

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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