Information
Organization's Own Description:
The Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center had its early beginnings in 1967, when Samuel U. Rodgers, MD, MPH, planned, then opened the first federally recognized community health center in Missouri-only the fourth such center in the U.S. at that time. It was located at the Wayne Miner Housing Project at 911 Michigan, in Kansas City, Missouri. Dr. Rodgers had a vision and a passion-to ensure that everyone has access to quality health care.
The Health Center moved to its current location, at 825 Euclid Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1971. The building has 47-thousand square feet of space and was designed specifically to provide health care services. In its first year of operation, 5,000 patients received health care here.
By the mid-1970's, the Health Center continued to grow, attracting 32,000 patients and recording more than 98,000 patient visits in 1977. Growth continued in the 1980's as the Health Center expanded its services to include homebound patients, older adults and a school-based clinic at Northeast High School. It held its first community health fair, offering free cancer and cardiovascular screening tests.
In 1988, 20 years after it first opened, the Wayne Miner Health Center was renamed the Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center, in honor of its founder and Executive Director. Testing and counseling for HIV were added in this year, and a new prenatal program opened to improve access to care for pregnant women. In 1990, a substance abuse treatment program located at 31st and Montgall in Kansas City, Missouri, opened, and was named Rodgers-South.
The Samuel U. Rodgers Community Health Center celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1993 and opened an Adult Day Care Center at the Palestine Senior Citizen Activity Center, located at 3325 Prospect in Kansas City, Missouri. Efforts in the areas of HIV/AIDS and drug abuse prevention and treatment, continued and expanded. In 1996, Dr. Rodgers became the executive director emeritus of the Health Center and Rita Rodgers-Stanley, M.D., became the interim executive director. Then, in December, 1999, the Health Center "family" and the community suffered a great loss in the passing of its founder.
Throughout the next decade, the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center expanded its medical and dental services to include farm workers and their families in Lexington, Missouri. A school-based dental clinic was opened to provide comprehensive dental services to students attending McCoy Elementary in Kansas City. In 2004, the Rodgers-Independence Dental Center was opened for students in the Independence School District.
In 2005, Hilda Fuentes joined the Health Center as its new Chief Executive Officer. The next year, the Rodgers-Lafayette Dental and Health Center moved into a new building in Lexington, Missouri. In 2007, the Health Center received an $11.6 million appropriation from the state of Missouri, to support capital expenses. Also in 2007, the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center launched a capital campaign to build a new facility and celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Construction of a brand new building, adjacent to its current site, is underway, expected to open in early 2012. The expanded space will allow 7,200 additional patients to be seen for medical, dental and behavioral health care. Plans call for the creation of the "Legacy Park" to replace the current building.
Throughout its long and proud history, some things have never changed, including the symbol for the Health Center-the pelican. According to ancient mythology, the pelican is a symbol of compassion. It represents the vision of Samuel U. Rodgers, who spent a lifetime providing quality, compassionate and affordable health care to the Kansas City community. That vision lives on today--in the healing work of the Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center.
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