By Catharin Shepard
Staff writer

Goshen Medical Center will open a new clinic in Raeford next month to help low-income individuals and families receive medical care.
The clinic will open August 1 at 102 Southern Avenue, in the same building once occupied by a similar clinic operated by South Central Community Health Center.
The new clinic is funded through the same grant, but will be operated by a completely different healthcare agency. Michael Baker, a special projects consultant for Goshen Medical, is serving as the interim director for the new clinic as Goshen Medical prepares to open the location.
The center will provide primary healthcare for issues like minor illnesses or injuries, and will be able to refer patients out when necessary for more specialized care. The center will see children and adults.
“When we take on a client we run a ‘medical home,’ and that means we’re responsible for the patient even if we refer them out. We follow up with them, we continue tracking and paying attention to our patient,” Baker said. “That’s a commitment we make to our patients.”

Initially the clinic will focus on primary care, but Goshen Medical administrators hope to expand the services to include mental health support.
“We’ll be mainly a medical practice. We’re hoping to get someone in to deal more effectively with mental health issues and substance abuse,” Baker said.
The clinic is funded through a $735,000 grant from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The HRSA held a grant competition for the Fayetteville area last December and awarded the grant to Goshen Medical Center, which has operated similar clinics throughout the state since 1979. Goshen Medical currently has over 30 medical centers in North Carolina, mostly in the eastern part of the state.
Goshen Medical purchased the building on Southern Avenue, Baker confirmed.
Administrators have been working to hire staff, including some of the same staffers who used to work at the clinic under its prior agency.
Thanks to its grant funding, the clinic is able to offer low-cost medical care to people who otherwise might not be able to afford it. Patients pay for their care based on a sliding fee scale that takes income and family size into account.
Former clinic patients who visit the new clinic when it opens this August under Goshen Medical’s management should plan to redo their paperwork during their first visit. The new center uses a different paperwork system than the previous one.
Phone and internet service is still being set up to the location, but the clinic does plan to open its doors August 1, Baker confirmed. For more information, call or text Baker at (919) 522-4981 or email swiftcreekconsulting@aol.com.