Nurse Practitioner, Team to Relocate to Larger Space with More Resources
HILLSDALE, Mich.—Litchfield Health Clinic will merge with Reading Health Clinic effective July 31, relocating nurse practitioner Rachel Stump and team members to the Reading location.
This new location will allow patients to continue to receive care from Stump, now with more resources in a more functional space. While Litchfield Health Clinic only has two exam rooms and seating for four people in the waiting room, Reading Health Clinic has three times the exam rooms and waiting area space for patients and their loved ones who spend time in the clinic.
“As we considered the best way to serve our community with primary care, we recognized that Litchfield Health Clinic could not be sustainable based on the reality that the clinic had reached maximum capacity,” Rachel Lott, chief communications officer, said. “Keeping the Litchfield clinic operational as a separate stand-alone location is no longer an appropriate use of the limited resources we have for taking care of patients.”
Hillsdale Hospital opted to combine the two clinics into the Reading location. Litchfield patients have been mailed letters and received electronic communication regarding the change. Clinic team members are working with patients individually to secure transport to and from Reading for appointment so they can continue to see Stump if transportation is a barrier. Other options for patients include choosing a new provider at Hillsdale Health & Wellness or opting for virtual visits when appropriate. In the future, the hospital hopes to have a regular presence in Litchfield with a mobile clinic starting in the first quarter of 2024, at the earliest.
“We are exploring setting up a mobile clinic that would be an extension of our primary care services,” Lott said. “This would enable us to maximize our resources by going out into outlying parts of the county to meet patients where they are—not just in Litchfield, but in other areas currently lacking primary care entirely.”
Litchfield Health Clinic’s last day of operations will be Friday, July 28. The team will be fully transitioned to Reading starting on Monday, July 31. Patients who have questions about the transition can call Litchfield Health Clinic at (517) 330-3000 up through July 28. After that, patients can call Reading Health Clinic at (517) 283-1772.
