The Florida Department of Health in Monroe County (DOH-Monroe), in collaboration with the College of the Florida Keys (CFK) and Rural Health Network, last month opened the Tuga Clinic on the CFK Key West campus.
The Tuga Clinic will provide general health services to CFK employees, students and the public, including:
- Primary care.
- Dental services.
- Family planning.
- HIV testing and counseling.
- PrEP.
- STI testing and treatments.
- Immunizations.
- School health physicals.
- Occupational health physicals.
- Narcan education and distribution.
- Smoking cessation.
- Substance use education and referrals.
- WIC.
- Maternal health and Healthy Start.
“Data from the 2022 Stock Island Community Health Survey highlighted the need for affordable, accessible medical care where our residents live, work and play,” said Carla Fry, administrator and health officer for the health department. ”We treated the survey responses as actionable data and got to work on a solution.”
Jonathan Gueverra, president of the college, was happy to get the school involved in the health partnership.
“CFK will always be this community’s college,” Gueverra said. “We live up to this goal by being the solution or a part of the solution. The Tuga Clinic is one more example of CFK in action to solve a problem. We are proud to be a partner and the host in this collaboration that will improve the health and wellness of our students, employees and neighbors, while providing clinical practice opportunities for our future health care professionals.”
Jennifer Lefelar, public information officer for the county health department, was the principal investigator for the department’s 2022 Stock Island Community Health Survey, which highlighted the critical need for a medical clinic on Stock Island.
“Data from the survey, conducted by DOH-Monroe, support the need for Stock Island residents and workers to gain access to a medical clinic much closer to where they live and work,” said Lefelar.
Rural Health Network will send a practitioner to the Tuga Clinic once a week. The clinic will also use Rural Health Network’s mobile unit, which has full dental capacities.
“Rural Health Network is excited to expand access to medical and dental care for Monroe County residents through this collaborative effort with the College of the Florida Keys and DOH-Monroe,” said Amy Halstead, CEO of Rural Health Network.
Initial hours for the clinic will be from Mondays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on and Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from noon to 4 p.m. To schedule an appointment, call 305-293-7500.
