Husson Capehart Health Center now open

A new health clinic has opened in the Capehart section of Bangor.

Husson Capehart Health Center was opened Dec. 3 with a six-year, $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The clinic is designed to bring basic medical services to an underserved population and to give Husson College’s undergraduate and graduate nursing students an additional site for clinical practice.

Mary Shea, a member of Husson College’s nursing faculty and a nurse practitioner, proposed the clinic, applied for the grant and is the center’s director. She said that more than 2,000 people are expected to visit the clinic annually.

Since it opened, about 15 people have come in seeking help for problems such as smoking and for shots for children. Shea said about half of those patients walked to the center, which is at 64 Davis Road. Many residents in the area don’t have cars and will find the center convenient, she said.

The central goal is to provide primary care and general health counseling, education and services to adults and children who have found it hard to get treatment, Shea said. No doctor is on duty, but the clinic will make appropriate referrals for complicated medical problems.

Shea said Husson’s nursing students already do clinical rotations in physician offices in many Maine cities and towns.

The clinic is located in what once were two adjoining, two-story apartments. The Bangor Housing Authority donated the space to the project, a Husson spokeswoman said.

The clinic’s regular weekday hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. An open house is scheduled from noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22.

For appointments or information call 992-2205.