VNA says medical visits soar at new Joliet clinic

VNA Health Care expected to see more patients when it opened a new Joliet facility on Jefferson Street, but the numbers are far exceeding projections.

The community health center, which serves uninsured and underinsured patients, is seeing about 400 patients monthly, almost twice as many as expected, VNA President and CEO Linnea Windel said.

“It’s really been quite a greater-than-expected growth there, serving a greater number of patients than we expected since the first month,” Windel said.

VNA expected to serve 5,000 unduplicated patients in the first two years after opening a new building at 1501 W. Jefferson St. in September. “Unduplicated” means repeat visits by the same patients are not counted.

The clinic is on track to serve about 4,500 unduplicated patients a year. VNA had served about 1,500 patients a year at its previous location.

“We do know that there is a good amount of need in the community based on our statistics before building the facility,” Windel said.

The number of low-income residents in the Joliet area eligible for community health center services is almost three times the numbers using them, according to VNA.

VNA already had been in Joliet since 2015 in rented space in a Glenwood Avenue office building that it shared with other tenants before building the 14,000-square-foot facility on Jefferson Street.

“We’re much more visible, and it’s much bigger,” Windel said of the new space. “We have more providers there.”

VNA added services because of the increased space at the new building. But it may be getting more patients for the same reasons retailers do when they build new stores on major corridors.

“It’s easy to find,” Windel said of the new clinic. “It’s on a big street, and it’s easy to park there.”