PHOTOS: Waukesha Community Health Center Grand Opening

(WCHC), located at 309 E. North St. in Waukesha, will be open to patients on Monday, Aug. 27, 2012.

Hours for the health center are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The phone number is 262-408-2530.

"Congratulations to the Waukesha Community Health Center for their grand opening this morning," tweeted Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas on Thursday. "They will be a great partner to the county."

The health center will provide primary medical care for patients of all ages, and all insurance types. Patients with private insurance, BadgerCare and uninsured are all welcome.

The ribbon cutting ceremony held Thursday represents the culmination of a remarkable community partnership that began in 2007. The Waukesha Memorial Hospital Foundation recently reached its fundraising goal of $2.3 million to fund acquisition of the site, and a $2.6 million capital improvement grant under the Affordable Care Act from theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services paid for construction and furnishings.

The 15,000-square-foot facility will have 30 exam rooms with three medical providers and nursing staff providing primary medical care in family practice and pediatrics.  Additional personnel will assist with referrals to other community resources, determination of insurance eligibility/enrollment and participation in the WCHC sliding fee program. A three-year growth plan envisions the initial staff of 12 growing to more than 40, including 10-12 medical providers when the health center is fully operational.

WCHC will open with three medical provider teams and grow to ten teams by 2015. On Monday, medical staff will include a family practice provider, pediatrician and physicians assistant.

The three Medical Teams will be lead by:

Kshama Keshava Bhat, MD a graduate of the Medical College of Wisconsin Medical School, Waukesha Family Practice Residency Program and Adichunchanagiri Institute of Medical Sciences, India. Dr. Bhat is Board certified in family medicine and has certifications in cardiac life support, neonatal resuscitation, and life support in obstetrics.

Eliana McKee, MD, FAAP a graduate Universidade Federal do Ceara, Brazil. She did her residency at Driscoll Children’s Hospital, Corpus Christi, Texas. Dr. McKee is Board certified in pediatrics and pediatric advanced life support.

Stephanie Dominguez, MMS, PA-C, received her masters from Nova Southeastern University and her BS from the University of Minnesota. She is certified by the National Commission on Certifications of Physician Assistants and is certified by the American Heart Association in basic, advanced, and pediatric life support.

In addition to medical team nursing staff, a patient registrar/financial counselor will assist with BadgerCare eligibility and enrollment as well as the WCHC discounted fee program for uninsured patients. A part-time social worker will be available to assist with referrals to other community agencies for non-medical issues and a medical records and referral specialist will handle patient transition issues for other medical care. A facilities, mail room and inventory control clerk completes the initial staff of 12.

The staff is bi-lingual in Spanish and English, with translation assistance for other languages.

In addition to the Waukesha Community Health Center, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers operates in four locations in Milwaukee – two full service clinic sites, the Cesar E. Chavez Health Center at 1032 S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive, the Parkway Health Center at 2906 S. 20th St., a Senior Clinic at the United Community Center’s Senior Center and the Greenfield Administrative building at 1337 S. Cesar E. Chavez Drive. The Greenfield site houses the Women, Infants & Children Program, Department of Environmental Health, HIV Outreach and AmeriCorps Community Service Program in addition to agency administrative offices.

Sixteenth Street has a 43-year history of providing bi-lingual health care and social services to residents of the diverse neighborhoods on Milwaukee’s near south side. Sixteenth Street Centers are accredited by The Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest standard setting body for patient quality and safety. Sixteenth Street Centers were also listed among the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s 2012 Top 100 Workplaces in southeast Wisconsin.

For additional information about Sixteenth Street and WCHC visit www.sschc.org/waukesha and http://www.facebook.com/sschc.