County Council to look at health clinic

An Oconee councilman says a health clinic to serve those with low incomes or those caught in a “health insurance gap” is a crying need in the county. And later this month, the county council is expected to take the first steps toward making such a clinic a reality. The council’s law enforcement and public safety committee voted Tuesday to recommend to the full council the refurbishment of the former health department building at 200 Booker Drive in Walhalla. The move would prepare the building for leasing to Clemson University’s Joseph F. Sullivan Center health clinic. Administrator Amanda Brock says the projected cost of the refurbishment will be $125 thousand. The clinic the Sullivan Center would establish would be open five days a week and would not be county-affiliated, according to county officials. That would put to rest objections at least two county council members have raised at past suggestions for a clinic that the county should not become a health care provider. Under a new initiative, the Sullivan Center has already launched a new community health clinic pilot project in Salem using a mobile clinic and has plans for one serving Westminster. Under council protocols, the recommendation cannot be discussed for action until reported out of committee at the Council’s next meeting this month, but the measure was discussed for information during Tuesday’s regular council meeting. Councilman Wayne McCall, advocate of the project, said the clinic is needed to fill a need for those who find themselves without health insurance. That includes, McCall said, some county retirees, law enforcement and otherwise, who find themselves in a gap without coverage when they retire at an age still too young to qualify for retiree health insurance or Medicare. “Nothing but good will come of this,” said McCall.