Holy Cross opens new facility

On April 30, Holy Cross Hospital opened a new medical center in Aspen Hill, Md. The new facility is one of three primary care health centers owned by Holy Cross; the other two facilities are located in Silver Spring and Gaithersburg.

According to Holy Cross Hospital CEO and President Kevin Sexton, the company wanted to provide an affordable and easy health care option for uninsured county residents in need of medical care. "If we are going to make health care affordable for individuals and government payers, we are going to have to make it better, not less available," Sexton said. The center would also help fulfill a pledge made by Holy Cross four years ago to expand capacity in serving the county's population.

Sexton believed that opening up a new and accessible center is important in order to encourage people to seek medical treatment before their health problems escalate. "Without adequate resources and access to health care, many postpone seeing a health care provider until their medical problems reach critical levels, resulting in the need for more complex and expensive emergency room or inpatient care," Sexton said.

The new hospital is part of Montgomery Cares, a public and private partnership that provides health care to low income, uninsured Montgomery County residents through a network of clinics. With its third health care center now open, Holy Cross predicted about 30,000 visits next year, 9,000 more than the total in 2011, according to Sexton.

The clinic center is staffed with mid-level practitioners, a physician and nursing and support staff. The clinic expects patient requests mainly for primary medical care, annual screenings, chronic disease management, behavioral health, preventive care and health education.

Glenmont resident Ann Haley was excited about the new facility being opened in Aspen Hill. "It's always convenient to have a medical center about five minutes away versus taking two buses to Silver Spring," Haley said.

In addition, Haley marveled at the hospital's convenience. "I am uninsured and whenever me or my kids had any health issues, it was a hassle to find someone who could help us out," Haley said. "Thanks to this new medical facility, [it won't be a] problem for me or for anyone else who's uninsured to get medical assistance."