Under the leadership of CEO Olivia Nichols, Ph.D., the Rock River Community Clinic in Watertown transitioned three free clinics into a federally qualified health center under the Look Alike designation servicing 13 zip codes across a three-county area.
RRCC also increased access to care from 2,321 patients through 4,920 visits in 2021 to more than 3,500 patients through more than 9,000 visits in 2024, and expanded medical and dental services to also include integrated behavioral health care, according to Michael Luckey, assistant to the Jefferson County Administrator.
In addition, RRCC increased the number of Hispanic/Latino patients served from 30% of total medical patients in 2022 to 76% of medical patients served in 2024. More than 55% of RRCC patients are Hispanic/Latino, serving as the primary health care home for new immigrant families.
In collaboration with Fort HealthCare, RRCC expanded efforts to track quality-health indicators to target and reduce health disparities. In the first two years, RRCC and FHC reduced disparities between the two organizations for blood pressure and A1c, 20% for cervical cancer screening and 40% for colorectal cancer screening, Luckey said.
