MADISON, Wis. (May 29, 2009) — UW Health Wingra Family Medical Center is partnering with Access Community Health Centers to provide its patients with additional primary care services. Over time, the goal of the affiliation is to provide more primary care services for the community and South Madison.

The partnership will take effect on July 1, 2009. An explanatory letter (pdf)and a list of Frequently Asked Questions (pdf) were recently mailed to all clinic patients.

Although the clinic's name and signs will change, care will continue as before for patients. All primary care, referral, and after-hours services will still be offered, in the same location, with the same clinicians and telephone number for appointment scheduling.

Wingra will continue to be a UW Department of Family Medicine (DFM) residency training clinic, and all medical providers will remain on the faculty of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.

The clinic will continue to bill insurance plans for care just as it always has. In addition, patients who are uninsured or who have out-of-pocket costs may apply for Access' sliding discount program.

Wingra's partership with Access will also offer patients some new services in the near future:

• Later in 2009, the clinic will offer behavioral health services to help patients make lifestyle changes such as quitting smoking, losing weight, or dealing with depression.
• In 2010, the clinic will offer an on-site pharmacy, so patients can consult with a pharmacist and pick up affordable prescriptions before leaving a clinic appointment.

Access Community Health Centers is one of a family of more than 1,000 health centers nationwide known as Federally-Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs). FQHCs are local, nonprofit organizations that provide health care for low-income and medically underserved communities.

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