By MATT PIKE
The Stuber Health Center, formerly known as the Social Welfare Board, is celebrating 113 years of service in St. Joseph and is installing new services at the downtown health clinic.
Tomorrow, Stuber Health Center will celebrate a new point of care lab installed at the clinic thanks to Heart to Heart International with a ribbon cutting at 8:30am. The new lab was made possible with grant funds from the United Way of Greater St. Joseph.
Heart to Heart International has installed more than 66 point-of-care laboratories at free and charitable clinics across the country since 2007. This testing is especially crucial for diagnosing and managing chronic conditions like diabetes and hypertension.
“Heart to Heart International is excited for this opportunity to install this point-of-care lab with Stuber Health Center as we continue to break down barriers to equitable access to healthcare in under-resourced communities,"
Heart to Heart International Director of the Laboratory Program Heidi Schutz says in a news release. "With our point-of-care laboratory consultations and training, Stuber Health Center will be able to provide rapid, accurate laboratory results to aid in diagnosis and treatment decisions for their patients, all within the same visit.”
The grant from the United Way of Greater St. Joseph allows Heart to Heart Internationla to provide Stuber Health Center modern lab equipment, staff training, mentoring, technical support, and supplies and reagents for the first 12 months. At that point, all installed equipment becomes the clinic’s permanent property.
“We are grateful to Heart to Heart International for this point-of-care laboratory program. It is a crucial step forward for our clinic and the patients we serve," Stuber Health Center Executive Director Dr. Latha Varghese says. "The ability to perform more testing in-house will make healthcare more accessible and comfortable for all patients in our community."
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