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Janesville's HealthNet clinic set to expand

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

The drug room at Janesville's Health Net does duty as storage, workspace and a traffic lane from one office to antother.

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Photo by Bill Olmsted

HealthNet of Janesville will be expanding their office space into the first floor of the building at 23 W. Milwaukee St.. The lower level will be administrative offices and staff space, with the clinic remaining on the second floor.

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Traci R. Rogers

JANESVILLE — To say HealthNet is cramped would be an understatement.

Staff and volunteers must make room for “traffic” in the free clinic’s cramped medicine room. And there’s not enough work room or storage space, which reduces efficiency.

Relief is coming soon in the form of a building renovation and expansion project that will start in September.

“As soon as we can get started the better,’’ said Traci Rogers, executive director.

The project will cost $218,500. HealthNet already has received $125,000 through the Community Development Block Grant Recovery Program, $36,000 through a mail campaign and another pledge of $10,000.

“We still need to raise $45,000,’’ Rogers said. “We want to have the money raised by the time we pick the contractor. Bids are going out this week. We want to sign that contract in about a month.’’

The clinic first started as a grassroots effort in 1994 to provide accessible health care for low-income residents in Rock County. HealthNet has doubled in size and services in the past three years, and continued growth is the reason behind the new expansion plans.

During its last fiscal year, HealthNet experienced a 71 percent increase in the number of people it served and a 54 percent increase in patient visits. This year, patient visits have increased by 23 percent while more than 24,000 medications with a combined value of more than $2 million have been provided.

“It’s been a real challenge to maintain the increase in services over the past two years and there’s no opportunity to increase (services) with space constrictions,’’ Rogers said.

Plans to add 1,380 square feet of space directly below its current 2,135 square feet of second-floor space will allow HealthNet to see more patients, she said.

The new space will be used for administration and will include a meeting/break room. Medical care will continue on the second floor.

Rogers hopes the expansion also will allow two doctors to work in the clinic at the same time, help increase the number of exam rooms and allow more space for work and storage.

The expansion and renovation include plans for overhauling lights, air conditioning, walls and floors. A handicapped-accessible bathroom, air handler and security system also will be added, Rogers said.

HealthNet leaders looked at several options to add space, but they knew the organization was not in a financial position to buy a new building or move to larger site, she said.

“We have a huge advantage with staying at our current location because we do not need to pay utilities, grounds and/or maintenance,” she said. “If we move from one downtown building to another with a major increase in operating costs, then we will have fewer resources to invest in our services.’’