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Belmont Co. supports Health Right

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – The Belmont County Board of Commissioners made its annual donation of $25,000 to Wheeling Health Right last week after hearing an update on the many benefits the organization provides to Belmont County residents.

Kathie Brown, executive director of Wheeling Health Right, spoke about the organization and the services provided. She said Wheeling Health Right is a free, charitable clinic. For the past three years, due to the Affordable Care Act, it has been treating individuals who are on Medicaid. Brown said this policy continues, although the fate of the Affordable Care Act remains uncertain.

“We’re still providing services. People that are in the marketplace can’t afford their co-pays, can’t afford, now, their deductibles, can’t afford their premiums, so we’re seeing a tremendous influx of patients,” Brown said, adding that Wheeling Health Right provides care at the “mid level,” including attention from a physician assistant and nurse practitioner.

“We hire those individuals. We provide health care to patients in the Ohio Valley,” Brown said, adding that the clinic has about 3,500 patients from Belmont County. The total number of patients is 22,000.

The clinic includes a licensed retail pharmacy on site, as well as a “farmacy” that provides fresh fruits and vegetables weekly to chronic disease patients. Brown said fresh fruits and vegetables can help these patients control their diseases without the use of medication.

“We have been successful,” she said, adding that this is a method of reducing patients’ high blood pressure and other symptoms.

The clinic also provides other services, such as diabetes education. She said the staff assists patients in changing their lifestyles and combating chronic disease.

“We have the whole gamut. It is really a one-stop shop,” she said. “It makes a huge difference. We get phone calls every day from people or we have a patient who walks in and says, ‘I would not be alive if not for Health Right. I truly would not be alive.”

Brown added that one of the most important new additions has been the dental clinic.

“We have an amazing dental clinic. First class, first rate,” she said, adding that the clinic was added using $400,000 worth of grant funding. “Nothing came out of any of our operating expenses.”

“They boast 12 participating dentists,” Brown said. “We’re that safety net. We take care of them. We lift them up. We make a difference. … We’re really, really helping to keep people working, keeping them involved in the community.”

She added that 75 percent of the clinic’s patients work numerous part-time jobs.

“It’s unfortunate that we have to be here, it’s great that we are here,” she said. “We’re glad that we can do it. I’ve been here 25 years. It’s a good program.”

She thanked the commissioners for their support.

“We really appreciate that the people of the community really need your help,” Brown said.

Frank Pepini, a guest at the commission meeting, added that Wheeling Health Right was invaluable to steelworkers at the former Martins Ferry Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel mill during the strike of 1997.

Commissioner Mark Thomas said the commissioners were proud to support the clinic, pointing out how it benefits Belmont County residents.

“This is one of those agencies and entities in the Ohio Valley where the river means no boundary. They serve so many and have served thousands of Belmont County residents, and that’s why we have supported you.”

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