The new face of Navasota health

When the 74-year-old Navasota Medical Center closed its doors earlier this year, many expressed concern about the future of Grimes St. Joseph Hospital and primary care in Navasota.

Stepping up to address those concerns were Erin Marietta, Market Director of Rural Operation for CHI and administrator of three area critical access hospitals, Grimes, Madison and Caldwell, and HealthPoint CEO Terri Sabella.

Marietta, who is passionate about rural hospitals, said, “The hospital is in a really good position right now. It continues to do well, meeting volume metrics. We’re not going anywhere!”

On July 11, HealthPoint relocated from Dove Crossing and opened its new 7,000 square foot facility at 8310 SH 6 to better fill that primary care need.

Sabella said, “We see it (Navasota) as a growing, expanding community and we want to be here.”

Physician recruitment

Referring to the Washington Avenue clinic space, Marietta said, “The owner is selling it. CHI was operating the practice, but we didn’t own the building. We are still actively recruiting to replace the physicians even though the clinic operation is moving to HealthPoint under the HealthPoint name.”

Marietta acknowledged recruiting can be challenging because of COVID and the many options now available to providers but physicians recruited for primary care at HealthPoint will also serve as Grimes St. Joseph hospital medical staff and have admitting privileges.

She continued, “Dr. Katie Blalock and Dr. Jordan Conway are still admitting physicians and we’re working with a Texas A&M residency program as well as recruiting physicians who can do calls and help with on-call coverage here in the hospital. Again, as the recruiting continues in its path forward, the plan will be as those providers come on to do primary care, they’ll be added to the medical staff as well.”

Allaying the fears of northern Grimes County residents, Marietta said, “St. Joseph Health is committed to continue to have high quality health care in Madison County. The challenge there is the facility. Built in the 1940s, it still has a lot of original infrastructure in place but there are no plans to cease operations in that community.”

Persevering during COVID

Grimes St. Joseph maintained all services through COVID – from a 24/7 inhouse emergency room physician to cardiac rehab – and is going strong.

One program temporarily affected by COVID was the Senior Renewal Program, a group therapy program for senior citizens. Ordinarily, the hospital provides transportation and lunch but concern for the safety of the elderly prompted changes.

Marietta said, “We took these patients who were worried about isolation and kept up their therapy on the phone. Our team leads called them, and they did Zoom therapies for those who could access Zoom.”

Recalling the pandemic, Marietta said, “When Dr. Scamardo and his crew were still here, they came every day to take care of our patients. We are, at this point, completely operational. There are no services not being offered and we’re busy!”

EMS enhancements

St. Joseph EMS contracts with Grimes County for ambulance service and Director Billy Rice is as optimistic as Marietta and Sabella.

He said, “St. Joseph EMS is in great shape in Grimes County. We follow 911 volume trends very closely and add ambulances during times of increased demand, as during the COVID outbreak. We opened a field supervisor station in Anderson last year and beginning May 15, 2022, there is a designated Paramedic Field Supervisor in Grimes County at nearly all times.”

HealthPoint expansion

Describing the CHI-HealthPoint partnership, CEO Sabella said, “CHI has a hospital and they need physicians on-call to cover their hospital and these physicians need a place to practice in the community. For us as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), sometimes it’s a challenge to hire and retain qualified physicians so we’ve found that partnering, we can hire physicians and offer them an attractive practice where they can have a panel of primary care patients and serve folks in the community regardless of the ability to pay through the FQHC and still provide the on-call services to the hospital.”

At present, there are three physicians and a nurse practitioner but the expansion was designed to accommodate two additional PCPs, two behavior health offices, and a three-room dental suite. In addition, Sabella confirmed interest in offering podiatry services and enhancing their current pharmacy service.

Payors accepted

HealthPoint accepts Medicare, Medicaid, cash, sliding scale and all health plans in the region with the exception of Cigna – because Cigna doesn’t have a relationship with CHI or Baylor Scott & White for admitting privileges.

Sabella said, “It’s always tough to form a new relationship with a new provider… we can talk about what they would prefer in a provider and try to match them with the right individual to service their needs and that of their family.”

NISD partnership?

Sabella continued, “We think our strength is supporting working families so we’re looking for new and innovative ways to be a convenient source of primary care for working families. We’re currently in conversation with the school district looking for opportunities to partner with them this fall to provide access to students, faculty and staff. That’s in the school board’s hand now.”

Sabella summed up this new chapter in HealthPoint history saying, “We have the capacity to grow and continue to serve Navasota.”