CENTURY, Fla. — Century is set to see expanded health care options in the coming months after Community Health Northwest Florida secured an $8.7 million grant to fill gaps in rural health care in the town, where options have been limited since its hospital closed in 2016.
The funding comes through the federal Rural Health Transformation Grant Program, with award amounts announced this week. Community Health Northwest Florida helped secure nearly $42 million in federal grant money for the Florida Panhandle and will oversee $41.5 million in regional funding spread across 15 partner organizations over the next five years.
Chandra Smiley, CEO of Community Health Northwest Florida, said the organization is working “in partnership with North Florida Health Council for the four counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton,” adding, “Over the next five years we have a little over 41 million coming into the area.”
Walter Arrington, the organization’s director of grants and development, said the grant is meant “to reinforce and ensure access to health care for specifically our rural residents across the nation, but specifically in the state of Florida.” Smiley said the funding will specifically be used to expand access points in Century and the surrounding rural parts of the community.
Community Health Northwest Florida currently shares a primary care office in Century with Lakeview. Arrington said the grant will strengthen services at that existing clinic on Industrial Boulevard. “We’re going to be reinforcing the clinic on Industrial Boulevard that’s up in Century right now,” he said, “so really making sure that the capabilities and resources that are up there are truly on par with somebody who may be coming to a clinic down here in the south end of the county.”
About a mile away on Church Street, the organization also plans to open a specialty women’s clinic to address what Arrington described as a lack of women’s care in the northern part of the county. He said the space could include women’s health and prenatal care, potentially behavioral health and therapy services, case management, and room for community partners to host classes and support events. “It’s kind of a universal space,” he said.
The grant funding will also go toward improving physician and patient communication and expanding telehealth options, including electronic medical record sharing so providers across different clinics and systems can access a fuller picture of a patient’s care. Arrington said he expects construction and rehabilitation work on the buildings to take 90 to 120 days.