St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center
The origins of St. Vincent’s Charity Community Health Center contain a rich history dating back to the spring of 1852 when four Sisters of The Charity of St. Augustine came from France to provide much-needed clinical care to the people of Cleveland and the Western Reserve. Cleveland’s first public health nurses soon became a familiar sight in the city, caring for the sick and founding an orphanage to provide shelter to children left by deceased patients.
On October 10th, 1865, they opened St. Vincent Charity Hospital that ultimately became St. Vincent Charity Medical Center. The mission of the hospital has always been to care for the poor and marginalized, especially those that live in the Central and surrounding neighborhoods. As a result, St. Vincent Charity treated a large percentage of patients who were uninsured, unable to pay their bills, or covered by Medicaid, whose payments do not cover costs. As a result of these challenges and significant shifts in the landscape of health care over the past 15 years, the difficult decision was made in November of 2022 to close in-patient services at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, and to convert to an outpatient only provider model. This decision was not made lightly but was necessary to sustain St. Vincent and continue its mission of care.
Now named St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center, they continue to offer a variety of services including primary care, mental health care, and treatment for the disease of addiction. This includes Psychiatric Emergency Services (PES), which help individuals manage psychiatric emergencies, stabilize crises, and return safely to the community. The PES is one of only two dedicated psychiatric emergency care facilities in Ohio.
There is currently an enormous demand for mental health services, and as a result, St. Vincent has built out their outpatient psychiatric services so that they are now able to take patients on a walk-in basis rather than those in need waiting days or weeks to be seen. Services include mental Health Assessments, Individual Therapy, Trauma Therapy, Medication Management, Wellness, and Linkage to primary care and addiction treatment. Other services include Occupational Medicine, Urgent Care, Outpatient pharmacy, and food service (SNAP).
Founded in 1952, Rosary Hall has been at the forefront of treating alcoholism and drug dependency for more than 70 years. Sister Ignatia Gavin worked with Doctor Robert Smith, the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Akron. The sister was called up to Cleveland to establish a hospital base for those suffering from alcoholism. Rosary Hall has helped well over 200,000 people suffering from substance abuse. At St. Vincent’s they understand, that “Every patient has unique needs in his or her personal battle to break the stronghold of addiction”, an individual plan is created for each patient to assist them in returning to a life free of addiction. For questions call today: 216-363-2580
St. Vincent’s first of its kind, Transportation Service Program, put in place in 2017, serves people who need to get to the Health Center but have no means of transportation. This organization provides transportation to these individuals at no cost. St. Vincent’s was the first to launch a transportation program that focused strictly on patients requiring care for substance use disorder and mental health challenges. When word spread to the media, St. Vincent was flooded with questions about this unique model they implemented. Calls came from hospitals across the Country, the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and even Great Britain’s version of the 60 Minutes program.
“Transportation remains a significant barrier to people living in underserved communities and that are seeking care to treat their addiction,” Thomas Olmstead, Director of External Affairs and Business Development, explained. “Imagine having to take 2 or perhaps 3 different buses to get to intensive outpatient treatment in the middle of a Cleveland winter. There is also a perceived sense of dignity they associate with a private ride, and the quiet of a private car gives them at least some pause to consider what they learned in treatment that day, versus public transportation.” He even when on to quote a young woman he spoke to who utilized the transportation program, saying she said, “it saved her life”.
They also have a medical-legal partnership with Legal Aid, which provides legal support for non-criminal acts. They assist with common legal issues such as guardianship, income support, Veteran benefits, and much more.
Contrary to the public perception that St. Vincent Charity closed completely last November, the St. Vincent Charity Community Health Center is open and is caring for all persons, including the less fortunate every day. Their services are vast, and it remains our duty to spread the word about their work and how they can help the community and individuals alike.