MOUNT VERNON — On Jan. 1, 2022, Moore Family Practice will join forces with Knox Public Health as part of the Knox County Community Health Center.
Clinical Nurse Practitioner Simona Moore opened the practice at 206 S. Mulberry St. in 2013. The practice will retain the name and continue seeing patients by appointment as well as through its walk-in clinic.
Moore said the move to become part of Knox Public Health was initiated to expand patient services.
“As a partner of the community health center, we will be able to provide mental health counseling, dental services, immunizations, and tobacco cessation,” she said. “It’s going to be a good thing for the community.”
“Having access to health center services in downtown Mount Vernon has been a goal of Knox Public Health for several years. With the health center’s current location on the far east side of Mount Vernon, some patients have had transportation difficulties getting in for appointments,” Lane Belangia, chief executive officer of the health center, said.
“The addition of the Moore Family Practice will not only help those who have a hard time getting to our main location, but it will also help to bring an entirely new access point to those who could never get to us.”
Moore has a heart for helping the underserved and has provided free services to clients of the Winter Sanctuary since opening her practice. Noting that “it’s the underserved that need to be seen,” Moore talked with Health Commissioner Julie Miller.
In turn, Miller talked with the Knox County commissioners, who provided $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money to buy the practice on behalf of KPH.
“Julie approached us about having a clinic in that location and providing services to the underserved population,” Commissioner Thom Collier said. “When we discovered ARPA money could be used for that purpose, we gave them a contribution that allowed them to move forward on this purchase.
“Expanding the services as part of a federally qualified health center allows the financial advantages to provide services that a private practice like Simona’s would not be able to do,” he added.
“Simona has been a really stable asset to the community,” Commissioner Bill Pursel said. “She was willing to do some different things for those who can’t go to the hospital or who can’t get there.”
“Including the walk-in practice, which is a big advantage for the health department. Looking at that location for a walk-in clinic makes it very accessible,” Collier said.
Belangia said that similar to the health center expansion to Danville, the center seriously considers ways to link patients to the care the center provides.
“We are grateful to the Knox County Commissioners, the Board of Health and the Health Center Co-Applicant Board in supporting this new partnership which will allow our services to be more accessible than ever before,” he said.
Of the decision to join KPH, Moore said it “takes the administrative burden off of me,” freeing her up to pursue other interests.
“You can always make more money, but you can’t always make more time,” she said, adding that she has four grandchildren with whom she wants to spend time. “I also have more ministry work that I would like to be involved with.”
Moore will provide telehealth and some in-office care through the end of March, at which time she will reevaluate her involvement.
“I’d like to be a mentor to some of the younger NPs,” she said. “The reason I love my position is there’s always something to learn every day. I have enjoyed my patients — they’re like my family. I like to know what makes them tick. They need to be seen and heard.”
Moore said the decision to open her own practice was “God-driven.”
“I thank God and my family,” she said. “God continues to give me grace, and my family continues to support me no matter what I do.”
Along with Moore, the Knox County Board of Health approved contracts with CNP Jill Hunter and Dr. William Elder, who is the collaborating physician for CNPs at the practice.
The board also hired 10 staff members from the practice, including five medical assistants, two LPNs, two CNPs and one administrative assistant.
