Clinic Expands Primary Care In Underserved Communities

The Findley Foundation Clinic is accepting new primary care patients in an effort to get more people from the community engaged in preventative care.

The clinic, located at 10721 W. Capitol Dr., Suite 110, has been distributing COVID-19 vaccines and tests since the pandemic began but wants to get more community members in for primary care appointments. The clinic is part of the Findley Foundation, an organization focused on health care and economic development.

Stephanie Findley, vice chairwoman of the board for the Findley Foundation, said the clinic can see about 20 patients at a time and has roughly half that number coming through its doors right now. The clinic is seeing walk-in patients at the moment as well.

The clinic strives to reach underserved patients. Findley said some patients who visit the clinic are seeing a doctor for the first time in five or six years. 

Access to primary care is often linked to better health outcomes, including a decrease in hospitalization and emergency room use.

Milwaukee had one primary care provider for every 1,355 residents in 2016, according to a study from the Medical College of Wisconsin. This ratio was lower than the state and national ratio at the time. 

Areas with the highest levels of poverty in Milwaukee County contained 45% of its population, but only 27% of its primary care providers, the study said.

Some barriers to accessing primary care include inability to take time off work for appointments, the lack of transportation and a lack of insurance. The clinic offers a sliding scale for uninsured and underinsured patients.

Findley said appointments at the clinic are usually 30 minutes or longer, a bit longer than average. This is to get a complete medical history and make sure that any concerns that someone comes in with are addressed.

“We want to make sure everyone who comes through our doors are heard,” Findley said.

Ellen Sono, who has a doctorate in nursing practice and is part of the team at the Findley Foundation, said primary care is important for identifying and treating chronic diseases, especially for those with a family history.

“We all want to live long,” Sono said. “If you don’t check yourself out, you might not know what you’re working with.”

People who receive primary care services at the clinic usually return for more visits and are able to get other problems addressed more quickly as they arise over time.

“After that, we can sit down and say: ‘It’s OK. You’re going to live with it, but you can control it,’” Sono said.

“We want to make sure that people leave here feeling healthy, healed and whole,” Findley said.

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For more information

To reach the clinic, call 414-988-3079. Findley recommends calling ahead to ask about availability. 

For more information, visit the Findley Foundation website.

The location is in Wauwatosa and can be accessed via the MCTS Red Line bus route.

The clinic has three staff members available: a physician and two nurse practitioners. It is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and provides urgent care from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The team offers services to those 6-weeks-old and older.

‘Healthy, healed and whole’: Findley Foundation Clinic seeks to serve more primary care patients in 2022 was originally published by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.