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KANSAS CITY, Mo. – South Kansas City is finally home to a safety net health clinic. It recently started seeing patients, but the clinic's been in the works for years.
The Kansas City Missouri Health Department, the Local Investment Commission, and Swope Health Services have been leading the effort. They say South Kansas City lacks affordable primary care options.
Vincent Murry, who lives just a few blocks from new the clinic, agrees.
"There's really nothing around here as far as a health clinic or anything," Murry says. "It would be nice to have something close."
Murry is waiting for a ride at a nearby gas station. He says he goes to Swope's central clinic, about seven miles from here, for check-ups and blood pressure medication. He says getting over there can sometimes be a challenge.
"I've missed a couple appointments cause I didn't have bus fair," says Murry.
The new clinic, called Swope Health South Clinic, is at 8825 Troost Avenue. Doctors expect to treat 25 to 50 patients a day. The cost of services is based on a sliding scale for people without insurance.
The city of Kansas City and the Health Care Foundation provided start-up funding for the clinic. Its grand opening is later today.
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Funding for health care coverage on KCUR has been provided by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
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