Judge: New clinic will open in September in Rockdale

Milam County will soon have another option for healthcare.

Milam County Judge Steve Young said this week that a new clinic will open in September in Rockdale through HealthPoint in partnership with St. Joseph Health.

Young said that representatives with HealthPoint made a presentation at the Rockdale Rotary meeting on June 17 about the new venture.

He said the clinic will be a primary care facility, with a family doctor; two physician’s assistants, and one licensed professional counselor.

The clinic will use Suite B next to the current hospital facility in Rockdale for its operations.

It will be open five days a week with normal business hours. It will not be urgent care or an emergency room. 

Young said talks with St. Joe and HealthPoint began last December when Little River closed its doors.  

“This has been a long slow process for many reasons,” he said. “The first is money. Primary care clinics are not profitable. In fact, St. Joseph’s estimates this new facility will need a $400,000 subsidy to cover it’s loses, even with an estimated $2.3 million overall budget.” 

Young said St. Joseph’s has agreed to absorb 50 percent of the subsidy, but the cost to the taxpayer will be roughly $200,000 per year. 

“The parties have applied for a grant and if it is awarded it could cover some of the subsidy,” he said. “In addition, the Hospital District will be responsible for the maintenance of the buildings and thus an ad valorem tax will be needed to pay for the maintenance.”

“The good news is that Rockdale will have a new medical clinic soon,” he said. “This will be in addition to the existing Rockdale Clinic located at 602 N. Main where there is a nurse practitioner, Terry Buchanan, who sees patients daily and a cardiologist, Dr. Havins, who is there every Monday. There is also the Scott & White Clinic in Cameron and Dr. House’s Clinic in Thorndale.”

Young said it is imperative that county residents support the new clinic and all of the existing clinics.

“Failure to do so may result in additional closures in the future,” he said. “The clinics depend on our financial support just like all of our local businesses, so please support them with your patronage. We are on the right track and with your help and support we will expand these clinics and have an urgent care facility in the near future.”