Fairfield Community Health Center commits to serving all of the community at new location

LANCASTER − A non-profit in Lancaster has spent the past seven years renovating a former school building with the intention of providing accessible health care to all.

Fairfield Community Health Center opened its new location, located at 220 East Walnut Street in Lancaster, to the public recently. If that address sounds familiar to you, that would be because the 32,000-plus-square-foot building was purchased as the former South Elementary School from Lancaster City Schools.

However, upon a tour of the newly-renovated building, one would not be able to tell that it was once an elementary school. The new Fairfield Community Health Center has been completely transformed from its original state.

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CEO of Fairfield Community Health Center Lisa Evangelista said that they got a steal on their purchase of the building.

"It ended up where nobody bid on it, so it went to private sale," said Evangelista. "Then, private sale is where you don't know what anybody else is going to bid and they take the best bid. We bid $25,000 and that was the best bid."

Evangelista said that the new building was needed in order to keep up with their commitment to serving the entire population with accessible health care.

"We were out of space and our purpose here as a community health center is to serve our population no matter who it is, we don't turn anyone away," said Evangelista.

After securing a building, Evangelista said that the next step was to secure funding. Fundraising & Marketing Manager Chris Skaggs said that of their different fundraising methods, one specific event stood out as particularly successful.

"We do our golf outing every year, since 2019 we've raised almost $100,000," said Skaggs.

In addition to its yearly golf outing, the Fairfield Community Health Center has been grateful to receive overwhelming support from local banks. Notable donations from local banks included the following:

• Peoples Bank: $50,000 donation

• Fairfield Federal Bank: $25,000 donation

• Park National Bank: $25,000 donation

• Bremen Bank: $10,000 donation

• Savings Bank: $10,000 donation

• Fairfield County Foundation: Donated two grants equaling $118,000

In addition to fundraising events and donations from banks, Fairfield Community Health Center also receives donations from its own staff members.

"Our employees have the ability to withhold a certain amount of money every paycheck to go towards our fundraising and it's pretty substantial," said Evangelista.

This detail shows just how meaningful the work being done at Fairfield Community Health Center is to its employees.

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Services provided by Fairfield Community Health Center include primary, behavioral, pediatric, and women's care as well as taking walk-ins that Evangelista and Skaggs said can substitute for a visit to an urgent care.

Fairfield Community Health Center has a mission that goes above and beyond your typical health center, according to its website:

"As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, our mission is to improve the lives of everyone in our community," said an excerpt on Fairfield Community Health Center's website. "Our purpose is to make sure everyone has access to quality, affordable healthcare, regardless of insurance status or income."

Additionally, its website says that all insurances are accepted, but that no insurance is required. Fairfield Community Health Center is committed to refusing health care to nobody, regardless of their ability or inability to pay for services.

"I myself am a patient here and so is my daughter," said Skaggs. "For example, she just saw our pediatrician a couple of months ago and right on the bill it says, even though they know we have insurance and they billed it through insurance, but the remainder of the bill says, 'as long as you pay five dollars a month, you're in good standing with us and can continue to see us.'"

"That's so needed here," said Skaggs.

Evangelista hammered home this point by saying that they will see people regardless of their financial situation.

"If you come here and say, I don't have money, I don't work, I'm looking for a job, then we'll still see you, we just make that as a note," said Evangelista. "People appreciate that so much."

"Our motto, and it's every community health center's motto, it should be anyway, is that you don't turn anybody away," said Evangelista.

With the new location now officially providing care, be sure to visit Fairfield Community Health Center. To learn more, visit its website.

This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Former South Elementary transformed into Fairfield Community Health Center