Starting April 1st, UnityPoint Clinic at Greene County Medical Center in Jefferson will become Greene County Family Medicine Clinic.

All providers will remain with the clinic through the transition including Dr. Thomas Fagg, Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioners Sara Fleecs, Jennifer Pudenz and Diana Smith. Dr. Josh Smith started on March 1st in the specialty clinics. The medical center has also hired pediatrician Dr. Holly Van de Voort, who will start April 1st; and Dr. Laurie Connolly, who will start May 1st.

CEO Carl Behne says the primary reason for the transition of the clinic to come back under the umbrella of the hospital was to capture reimbursement revenues from outpatient services with their rural health clinic designation from the governor’s office. He points out they recently were given that status following an analysis that the governor’s office does every four years for primary care, dental and mental health services to determine if a community is underserved.

“We will be able to get better reimbursement and actually have a profit margin within the entity of that clinic, which that clinic does not have now in its current ownership or would have with us without that designation. That’s a great opportunity for us. Several hundred thousands of dollars worth of extra reimbursement that we would not have access to.”

He adds that the change was mutually beneficial for both parties and it does not tarnish their over 30-year relationship with UnityPoint Health. To hear more from Behne about this and other topics, listen to today’s Community State Bank in Paton Let’s Talk Greene County program.