By David Fortier
One full week has passed since the new Wheeler headquarters and community health center welcomed its entire office staff and began full operations on Monday, Aug. 19 at 11 a.m.
“I was in our main lobby and a patient mentioned to me how wonderful the new building is, how wonderful it is that she can see all of her providers in the same location, and how convenient the location is because it’s right on a bus line,” Sabrina Trocchi, Wheeler president and chief executive officer, said just a few days after the opening.
“I think that that is very, very important for the Bristol community to know that we are accessible, easily accessible, and have done our best to bring all services and resources together under one roof.”
Not only does the new building sync with Wheeler’s open access approach to integrated medical care, but the location also offers additional onsite resources such as a pharmacy, Genoa Pharmacy will be up and running in the coming month, as well as specialty services provided through a partnership with Bristol Health.
“It’s part of our integrated model,” Trocchi said, ” our pharmacists, our medical provides, our psychiatrists, work together as a team. They are able to work off the same electronic medical records, so there is lots of communication and coordination that happens for the patient.”
For the many patients who rely on public transportation, being able to receive services before leaving is critical, she said.
As a federally qualified health center, Trocchi said, Wheeler does not turn away patients for an inability to pay.
“We do our very best to help patients explore what potential opportunities for insurance are available and help them through that process,” she said.
For instance, she said, that might mean helping them through the state Medicaid program or helping them understand what’s available through the Connecticut Health Exchange.
“That’s important for people to understand because someone might be fearful of going to get help because of the financial component,” Trocchi said.
In addition to the traditional primary care and behavioral health service, she said, chiropractic care and nutritional services are also available onsite.
“We have a teaching kitchen where we are able to do teaching demonstrations on nutritional foods and how to prepare them,” Trocchi said. “We are excited to begin some of those classes here in Bristol”
The new building at One Hope Street has under its roof, its administrative departments, including human resources, quality control and IT, as well as finance, primary care, psychiatry, behavioral health, state grant funded programs, mobile crisis providers and training center.
Regarding the latter, Wheeler offers training to individuals coming from across the state. Wheeler staff partners with state agencies such as the Department of Children and Families, the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and the Judicial Branch for these sessions.
“Those training opportunities range from behavioral health to motivational interviewing and other clinical types,” Trocchi said.
In total, the building is now home office for between 150 and 160 staff, depending on the programming, since all staff may not be present every single day. For instance, Information Technology staff maybe onsite at any of the 40 Wheeler locations across the state.
On the first day, with staff still acclimating and Behavioral Services opening at 11 a.m., Trocchi said Wheeler had already served 100 patients. That number should rise to about 120 to 150 patients a day.
In total, Wheeler has 1,000 employes across the state offering over 100 programs and services.
“We have our open access model,” Trocchi said, “which means for behavioral health services, no appointments are needed. Patients can just walk in, Monday through Friday, from nine to three.”
A behavioral health clinician will meet with that patient, assess the patient, develop a treatment plan, set up follow up appointments and access treatments, she said.
“Which is fundamental to the model that we offer,” Trocchi said.
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