Patients and community leaders came to Boydton on Monday to celebrate the opening of the new PATHS medical clinic and the return of Dr. Susan Hundley to the practice of medicine in Mecklenburg County.
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Kay Crane, CEO of Piedmont Access to Health Services Inc. (PATHS), welcomed guests, saying, “We are excited to be here and anxious to open.”
For contractual reasons and to make certain the new facility was ready for patients, the staff at PATHS Boydton location did not start seeing patients until July 17.
Crane praised Hundley and her Boydton staff for the work they did to prepare the new clinic. “We are excited to have Dr. Hundley, who is much loved in this community,” and shared that demand for services has been so great that they will be adding a nurse practitioner to the staff in September.
“It is a wonderful day for Boydton, medicine and medical care in the area,” said State Sen. Frank Ruff. He also expressed his pleasure with having Hundley back working in the community, “providing the loving care she is known for.”
Community Memorial Healthcenter created a stir among Hundley patients earlier this year when it announced it was not renewing her contract with its Primary Care Center in Clarksville. Within a few weeks of that announcement, PATHS reported that Hundley would join its staff at a new facility in Boydton.
PATHS had just been awarded federal approval to operate a qualified community health center, replacing HealthCare on the Square, which closed its doors May 31.
Hundley called her work in Boydton a “return to her roots.” The building in which she will practice at 969 Madison Street, Boydton, was once the medical office of her brother, Willoughby Hundley. Also, she considers Boydton her hometown.
Hundley said, “I am happy to be back in my hometown serving the people I know and love, and that have supported me. For months, I wanted to write a letter to the editor expressing my appreciation, but I could never find the right words. Everyone has just touched my heart.”
The Boydton office is the fourth health center operated by PATHS. The other three are in Danville, Chatham and Martinsville While the siting of PATHS’ newest clinic was to meet the needs of patients lacking insurance or who are covered by Medicare or Medicaid – formerly served by Health Care on the Square – Crane stressed that the Boydton clinic is open to all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.
PATHS has been providing access to health care since 2001 and operating federally qualified community health centers in Pittsylvania and Henry counties since 2004. The Boydton clinic provides a wide range of medical services including:
Family Medicine: Primary care for the whole family such as preventive services and annual screenings for children, adults and seniors;
Chronic Disease Management - Diagnosis and ongoing care for diabetes, hypertension and asthma;
Immunization
Laboratory and EKG testing.
Neal Graham, CEO of Virginia Community Healthcare Association, the organization which supports PATHS and similar clinics said, “We are very pleased PATHS is here. It is a stable organization that can provide the continuity of care this community needs and deserves. Bringing Hundley on staff was a stroke of genius. It gives them instant credibility in this new market, which will allow them to grow and expand, hopefully providing dental care in the near future.”
Hundley received her Doctor of Medicine in 1997 from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She is Board Certified in Family Medicine by the American Board of Family Medicine. After receiving her B.S. in Biology from Longwood College [now University] in Farmville, Hundley earned a degree in medical technology from Rockingham Memorial Hospital School of Medical Technology in Harrisonburg. She completed her residency training at Lynchburg Family Practice, an affiliate of the University of Virginia in Lynchburg, Virginia, and since then her focus has been on family medicine.
Appointments at PATHS Community Medical Center – Boydton: 434-738-6420.
Originally published at www.SoVaNow.com (http://www.thenewsrecord.com/index.php?/news/article/paths_celebrates_opening_in_boydton/) July 18, 2012