llini Community Hospital breaks ground for new walk-in clinic
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By Beth Zumwalt
Beth Zumwalt/Pike Press
On hand for Friday’s groundbreaking were, left to right, Shelly Paker, Diana Rock, both nurse practitioners; Lexi Damon, nurse manager; Dr. Darrin Thomas; Haley Mayfield, with Senator Jil Tracy’s office; Pat Whalen and Nicole Mason, of the USDA office; Holly Jones, CEO of Illini; Maureen Kahn, CEO of Blessing; Jeanne Goodman, chairman of the hospital board; Gary Mendenhall, mayor of the city of Pittsfield; Mike Klinger of Klingner and Associates; Amy Ruebush, Illini board member; Daman Emrick, Illini board member; and Jonas Petty of Petty Construction, who will build the facility.
Submitted graphic
An artist rendering of what the new Illini Express Clinic will look like. The building will be located on the northeast side of the hospital campus, where the annex building stood for 80 years.
Illini Community Hospital broke ground Friday morning for a $1.6 million project, a new Illini Express Clinic. The project is expected to be completed by December of 2023.
The groundbreaking was attended by a crowd of local officials and those from Blessing, USDA, who is providing a portion of the funding, as well as members of the community.
Currently known as the Illini Xpress Walk-In Clinic, it will move from 101 E. Washington, on the square in Pittsfield, to the new facility and have the new name Illini Express Clinic. It will be on the northeast corner of the campus where the annex building once stood.
In addition to traditional clinic space, Illini Express Clinic will feature one drive-through bay that will allow people seeking selected screenings or care to not have to get out of their vehicles.
“Illini is committed to quality care and convenient access for patients. This project features both,” said Holly Jones, MSN, RN, administrator, Illini Community Hospital. “Blessing Hospital has been using the drive-thru concept since 2020 when the COVID pandemic began. Patients loved the convenience of the service then and still do today. Blessing’s Express Clinic experienced more than 21,400 visits last year. We expect residents of Illini region will respond favorably to this type of access for their non-life threatening healthcare needs as well.”
Unlike the current facility, the new building will be designed specifically for healthcare delivery, and relocating it to the hospital campus will allow staff to more quickly and efficiently respond during times of high demand for care to assist clinic caregivers.
The Illini Xpress Walk-In Clinic recorded 5,421 patient visits during 2022. It opened in August 2015 as a result of an opportunity identified in the Community Health Needs Assessment for a new care option in Pike County for non-life-threatening illnesses and injuries.
Funding for the Illini Express Clinic project comes from an $891,500 United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development grant and $730,000 from Blessing Health.