The University of Louisville’s pediatric services department plans to increase the number of children it serves by opening new medical offices at the Sam Swope Kosair Charities Centre in Germantown.
Kosair has agreed to support a $1.2 million charitable lease over the next five years with an option to renew the lease for two additional five-year terms.The lease agreement means new medical and dental offices at Kosair will serve thousands of children each year.U of L has three other pediatric campuses that served around 11,500 children during the first half of 2013. The new medical facilities are expected to serve up to 3,000 patients this year with the possibility of double that amount next year, says U of L medical director of pediatrics Erica Labar.The new Kosair medical offices will draw some of the patients being served at the other locations, but the goal is to grow the total number children U of L serves, she says.“We have the ability to provide full medical, full dental care, coordination of services and really just know these children, know their families and improve their quality of their health," Labar says.There's not a great pediatric medical presence in the neighborhood , she says, and several of the children served by the new facilities use urgent care centers.“We will be able to serve both the medically fragile, the children with less access to healthcare, those who need quality services and are covered by Medicaid,” Labar says.The Kosair facilities often treat children with disabilities and chronic health conditions as well as children living in the community.The medical offices are currently open and the dental offices will open this fall.Last year, U of L's pediatric dental clinic is estimated to have seen 4,000-5,000 patient visits. The new clinic will be able to serve around 7,600 patients visits, officials say.
