West Orange Medical Health Center Ribbon Cutting – New facility to provide care to the under and uninsured
Press Release: Shepherd’s Hope
Orlando, Fla. (August 19, 2019) On Wednesday, July 24th Shepherd’s Hope celebrated the opening of the new West Orange Medical Heath Center located in Winter Garden. The new facility will allow a sustainable path to providing uninsured patient’s greater accessibility to essential primary and secondary medical services, health management and education, and wellness programs in this growing community. The program model, from mission inception, is deeply rooted in a commitment to cultural competence and is identified by unique collaborations that bring essential health care to any person regardless of faith, gender, age, ethnicity or ability to provide proof of residency documentation. Due to the significant increase in the uninsured patients’ need for access to healthcare, Shepherd’s Hope found it was limited in successfully achieving desired outcomes for the West Orange County community without the commitment to creating a permanent central office and clinical footprint that for the first time in the organization’s history would unify these two crucial aspects of the organization.
During this monumental ceremony, we gathered with our committed partners such as the West Orange Healthcare District, West Orange Health Alliance, Dr. P. Phillips Charities, Bailes Family Foundation, The City of Winter Garden, faith partners and members of the community. “With the new development of West Orange Medical Health Center, we are poised to expand our impact beyond our existing health care centers in Central Florida,” said Pamela Gould, President and CEO, Shepherd’s Hope. “Together, our leadership Board of Directors, volunteers and supporters will build upon our model of success, providing free, essential primary and secondary/specialty medical care to the underserved in the West Orange Community,” she said.
View Video from President and CEO, Shepherd’s Hope
Joined with Gould, Brian Walsh, President and CEO of The Collage Companies. – “After 22 years, Pastor Barnes’ vision, Shepherd’s Hope has become the largest free health center in the State of Florida. They have an amazing success story. Almost half of the 275,000 patient visits and medical services provided are from employed uninsured individual with no other option or hope to receive medical care. Shepherd’s Hope is a true lifesaver. Their Why speaks for itself, however the biggest reason is because of the heart of its people; board members, volunteering medical providers, investors and caring staff. They are true “behind the scenes heroes” in our community. The mission of the Collage Companies for 37 years has been “to build projects that strengthen the foundation and fabric of our community”. I can’t think of any other project that better fits that definition. We have been honored to be part of this project.”
About Shepherd’s Hope
Shepherd’s Hope is the leading voice for the uninsured and underinsured in Central Florida. Founded in 1997, the faith-based nonprofit organization provides free primary care and specialty care medical services to uninsured men, women and children from five free standing health centers in Orange and Seminole counties. In 2018, Shepherd’s Hope provided 19,033 free patient visits and medical services thanks to partnerships with 2,800 licensed medical and general volunteers, 3 community hospital systems, 100 diagnostic/secondary providers and numerous multi-faith partners. To learn more, visit www.shepherdshope.org or call (407) 876-6699 ext. 221.
