The Putnam County Health Department has recorded over 1,900 patient encounters at its new Monterey facility since July, successfully bridging a major healthcare transportation gap for eastern county residents.
Director Lisa Bumbalough said the eastern expansion was driven by historical data showing hundreds of residents previously had to commute down the mountain for basic medical needs.
“We know that rural communities face a lot of barriers to health care and good health,” Bumbalough said. “They face transportation barriers here in Monterey to get down to Cookeville for services.”
Bumbalough says it has been difficult to figure out how to operate in a different location with limited staff. She said the clinic has not done a lot of outreach in the community because of hiccups in setting up a new clinic. She said she hopes those are now behind them.
Bumbalough said the department tested the location with a mobile unit at the local farmers market for four months, which saw 457 patients. The permanent facility has since seen 648 individual patients, generating over 1,900 total encounters. The clinic currently operates with two full-time staff members, Sarah Smith and Alondra Martinez, while rotating specialized personnel from the main office.
“As a matter of fact, we’re actually seeing more here right now with this limited scaled back clinic than some of the local health departments are across the state that are much smaller and been in existence for years,” Bumbalough said. “So I only see us growing and being able to do more outreach.”
Bumbalough said the Monterey location offers all the same services as the Cookeville headquarters except for dental care. The clinic provides primary care on a sliding fee scale, telehealth options, and vital records administration for birth and death certificates.
“That is keeping those families from having to drive down the mountain to get those food cards loaded,” Bumbalough said. “And then there’s a lot of them that stay here and then go to the grocery here locally instead of being in Cookeville, you know, and potentially shopping there.”
Bumbalough said data from earlier in the year showed 365 unduplicated patients from the eastern end of the county drove to Cookeville for over 3,700 medical visits. The new clinic is funded primarily by state and federal government sources, with Putnam County government covering nine percent of the operating budget and funding a dedicated nurse position for the site.
“But you do have that benefit of having all of our staff at our fingertips here in in Monterey,” Bumbalough said. “So we’re just really grateful to be here, be part of the community and we hope that you’ll reach out to us if there’s anything we can do.”
Bumbalough said the department plans to increase the frequency of a visiting medical doctor from one day a month to two days a month.