DANVILLE — Step Up Vermilion County and local representatives will be meeting with Southern Illinois Healthcare Foundation CEO Larry McCulley next week to talk about SIHF’s planned community location for mental health and substance abuse that has been talked about for years now.
SIHF in 2022 purchased the former St. Elizabeth Hospital property for future expansion.
Step Up Vermilion County in December 2021 announced the partnership with SIHF to establish a new Vermilion County Federally Qualified Healthcare Center in two locations. One location is in the lower level of Danville High School and the other at 600 Sager Ave., the former St. Elizabeth Hospital site.
This FQHC will offer services for substance abuse and mental health; and will also work on funding for things like affordable housing, dental services for children and adults, and more.
A temporary SIHF location, prior to the Sager Street location being completed, has been planned in the former OSF HealthCare Foundation office on Logan Avenue, next to the sleep lab.
SIHF’s health clinic at Danville High School has a new nurse practitioner, Ken’Niesha Hoskins.
Hoskins is a Danville native, and her children graduated DHS.
“The goal of the clinic that we have at Danville High School is basically to bridge the gaps in health care. So, we do school physicals, sports physicals. It’s basically like a walk-in clinic, Hoskins said.
Hoskins said Danville has recently seen more in the Spanish population come into town and the clinic helped students get up to date on immunizations to start school.
“We network with all the schools in District 118 to get all the kids everything they need,” she said.
School home liaisons can help bring D118 students to the DHS clinic, so parents don’t have to miss work.
Hoskins said the public can help spread the word about the clinic being open 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at DHS.
They don’t turn children away despite income or insurance, Hoskins added.
The clinic also is open to D118 staff and immediate family members of staff and students.
The clinic opened a year ago in the basement of DHS. It has a reception area and three exam rooms.