AHOSKIE – The wait is nearly over.

Sixteen months after breaking ground for construction, Ahoskie Comprehensive Care (ACC) is scheduled to see patients at the new facility on Dec. 17.

ACC, which will be the new home to Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center – Ahoskie, currently located on Academy Street behind DrugCo, will also house the corporate offices of the Roanoke-Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC). The new location is off Hertford County High School Road, directly behind the DaVita Dialysis Center.

If you have an appointment scheduled or need healthcare from one of RCCHC – Ahoskie providers on or after Dec. 17 you will need to be seen at the new facility. To schedule an appointment, call 252-332-3548.

The move involving the medical and clerical staff of RCCHC – Ahoskie will not disrupt the weekday schedule of that office prior to Dec. 17. It will, however, provide more rooms for patient care. The 45,000 square foot ACC, encompassing two floors, will offer 48 primary care patient exam rooms as well as extending its medical care to include behavioral health, and dentistry through an adjoining facility opened earlier this year by the ECU School of Dental Medicine.

Also included at the new facility are larger and improved laboratories, and an in-house pharmacy.

“Community Health Centers represent a critical source of primary care for individuals nationwide,” said Kim Schwartz, Chief Executive Officer for RCCHC. “Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center provides prevention, treatment, and disease management delivered in a family-centered, patient-governed medical home. The fact that we will be able to continue and expand these resources at Ahoskie Comprehensive Care will ensure our mission to improve the health status of the people of Roanoke Chowan region, using the most advanced care practices, without regard to a patient’s ability to pay.”

Funds ($6.2 million) to construct the new facility came through a federal grant from the Affordable Care Act.

Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center is a not-for-profit organization, governed by a volunteer Board of Directors, committed to providing quality service and comprehensive healthcare – regardless of the ability to pay – to meet the needs of the community, including the uninsured. RCCHC is a Federally Qualified Health Center, to include Ahoskie Comprehensive Care, Colerain Primary Care and Murfreesboro Primary Care.

For more information, call 252-209-0237 or visit www.rcchc.org.