The Carbon Medical Clinic in East Carbon City has been providing medical services since 1952 when it was part of the Utah Permanente Hospital in what was then Dragerton.
The hospital served the communities of Dragerton, Sunnyside and Columbia, and the employees of Columbia-Geneva Steel and Kaiser Steel Coal mines of the East Carbon area.
In 1973 the hospital was demolished and the clinic was moved to the current location at 305 Center Street where it has continued to serve the medical, dental and behavioral health needs of the community.
The Helper clinic was added in 2003.
Executive Director Carolyn Abeyta said the Carbon Medical Clinic facilities in East Carbon and Helper serve patients in both Carbon and Emery Counties. She reported the clinics received 13,500 visits by more than 3,600 patients in 2017, with an economic impact of more than $3.5 million annually.
The Carbon Medical Clinic has 40 employees, including six Providers, one D.O., three Family Nurse Practitioners, two Physician Assistants, and two Pharmacists.
Abeyta noted that the clinic started receiving grant funding from the Federal Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) in 1992 to cover services for the approximately 40 percent of the patients who are uninsured. The remainder are covered by Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance.
Now plans are being finalized for a new facility on two acres of land donated by the City of East Carbon near the city’s public safety building. Abeyta said the clinic has received a HRSA grant of $989,000 for the new building. Plans call for an 8,000 sq. ft. metal building that will include medical, dental, and behavioral health facilities, a pharmacy and urgent care. The project has been advertised and the winning bid is expected to be announced next week.
The Carbon Medical Clinic has also applied for a federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for a parking lot at the site of the new facility. A public hearing on the application was held during the January 16 meeting of the East Carbon City Council at Bruin Point Elementary School.
The Clinic is seeking $86,856 to fund the parking lot project.
The Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments (SEUAOG) allocates the HUD sponsored federal funds to aid communities in Carbon, Emery, Grand, and San Juan counties with housing and community development projects. Projects must primarily benefit low-to-moderate income populations.
CDBG Coordinator Jade Powell said HUD has allocated approximately $4.5 million to the State of Utah to be distributed to seven AOGs or regional councils. About $622,000 is earmarked for the SEUAOG. After funding housing programs, senior center needs, and administrative costs, $348,000 is available for community development projects in cities and counties.
The Carbon Clinic application is competing with six other projects in Southeastern Utah for varying amounts of the funding. Powell said there are rating and ranking criteria that are used to evaluate the applications, and a decision is anticipated by the first part of March.
$1M grant to aid development of new East Carbon clinic
The old Utah Permanente Hospital in Dragerton is pictured above. It was demolished in 1973.