Mercy Hospital Joplin donates X-ray equipment to ACCESS Family Care

Midwest U.S. – Mercy Hospital Joplin is teaming up with ACCESS Family Care to provide X-ray services to patients.  Mercy will donate X-ray equipment to ACCESS at a ceremony on March 30 at 10 a.m. at ACCESS Family Care located at 530 Maiden Lane, Joplin. 

The lack of X-ray equipment has created challenges for ACCESS providers and patients, especially in the wake of last year’s May 22 tornado.

“We are excited to make this donation to ACCESS Family Care,” said Mercy Hospital Joplin president and CEO, Gary Pulsipher.  “They take incredible care of people in this community, and we are pleased to be able to make a small contribution to that care. We will continue to take advantage of opportunities to partner with ACCESS and support their efforts.”

ACCESS opened its doors in its current location, a renovated supermarket, three years ago.  The building was designed with an imaging room, but X-ray equipment could not be purchased at that time due to lack of funding. 

“The need for diagnostic X-ray services at ACCESS became acutely evident on the night of the May 22 tornado when many patients came to us for care, and had to be transferred to other facilities if they needed X-rays,” said Dr. Charles Bentlage, ACCESS medical director.   “Having this X-ray equipment will enhance the services we can provide, and our patients will be the benefactors.” 

Mercy’s recent upgrades and facility changes created an opportunity to donate the unused X-ray equipment.  The equipment was transported to ACCESS Family Care and installed through a cooperative effort with the vendor GE, Mercy, ACCESS Family Care and a grant to cover costs of electrical wiring. 

Mercy is the eighth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. and serves more than 3 million people annually. Mercy includes 31 hospitals, more than 200 outpatient facilities, 38,000 co-workers and 1,500 integrated physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. For more about Mercy, visit www.mercy.net.

ACCESS Family Care (ACCESS), was founded in 1996 as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) for the purpose of increasing access to primary health care for those who lack medical insurance coverage. As an FQHC, ACCESS receives a 330 Federal grant from the Bureau of Primary Health Care designed to offset the expenses associated with providing sliding fee discounts to patients who demonstrate economic need.
ACCESS Family Care—Anderson with both medical and dental services is located at 927 N. Business 71 Anderson. It’s open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM with late hours until 7:00 PM on Tuesdays and can be reached at 417-845-8300. The dental clinic is located in the same building with the same hours, except they close at 2:00 on Fridays, and can be reached at 417-845-2273.
ACCESS Family Care—Cassville, formerly the James D. Warn Community Clinic, is located at 1101 Main Street Cassville, and can be reached at 417-847-0057. The clinic is open Monday through Friday 8:00 AM-5:00 PM with late hours until 7:00 PM on Tuesdays.
ACCESS Family Care—Joplin with medical, pediatrics, and dental combined in one location is located at 530 S. Maiden Lane. The hours there are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM and late hours until 7:00 PM on Tuesdays. Medical services now observe extended hours Monday-Saturday until 8:00 PM. For medical appointments call 417-782-6200 and for dental appointments call 417-782-0080.
ACCESS Family Care’s administrative offices are located at 4301 Doniphan Drive in Neosho, Missouri, and the phone number is 417-451-9450.  
“One of the special characteristics of community health centers is that they create access to healthcare for the poor and language minority. We are doing a good job with that at ACCESS,” comments Chief Executive Officer Don McBride.
Last year, ACCESS increased patient visits by 11%.  40% were uninsured, 46% were Medicaid recipients, and 5% were Medicare patients. “We’ve seen phenomenal growth as we have responded to the immense primary care needs in southwest Missouri. We have a vision to continue to expand and work with area hospitals and dentists to continue to provide these much-needed services to the uninsured and under-insured,” adds McBride.