PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Keith Anderson, chief of the Nansemond Indian Nation, remembers entering the facility as a teenager.
“This was a center for orthopedic surgery, so I used to come here as a patient,” he says.
Now, the site on London Boulevard in Portsmouth has a new purpose: improving access to health care for Hampton Roads residents.
“This is probably one of the largest tribal efforts we've ever done.”
On Monday morning, the Nansemond Tribe opened Fishing Point Healthcare.
“The vision for Fishing Point Healthcare was not just to care for tribal members, but to care for others in our ancestral land communities who have long been similarly disadvantaged.” said David Darling, chairman of the Fishing Point Healthcare Board of Directors.
Darling said the team wanted to create a one-stop shop for patients.
“They can fill up their pharmacies. They can see their doctors,” he said. They can go to the dentist. You can undergo an X-ray examination. They can finish their research. ”
They even partner with organizations like ForKids to better understand challenges within the community.
“They actually came to us at ForKids and asked us what their families needed,” said Lexi Marateros, Family Wellness Coordinator at ForKids.
Nurse Sherry Johnson said she looks forward to bringing collaborative care to patients.
“We can take the time to look at the patient holistically and approach things systematically without being rushed,” she said.
Clinic directors said three exam rooms are currently open. Once completed, there will be a total of 18 units installed within the facility.
The facility is only partially completed. The second phase of the project will include dentistry, physical therapy, a laboratory and radiology, clinic owners said. It is expected to open in June.
Darling said they are working to expand their medical operations. He said an addiction recovery center recently opened in Chesapeake. Darling added that he plans to rent another building in Newport News and open another clinic. It is said that it is scheduled to open next year.
