Bayside Health Clinic Ready To Serve County's Homeless

CLEARWATER, FL — While the official dedication won’t take place until Monday, Pinellas County’s new Bayside Health Clinic is officially open to serve the homeless population.

Located at 14808 49th St. N. in Clearwater, the 3,078-square-foot clinic cost just over $2 million to build. Money for construction came from a grant received by the county from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources Services Administration.

The new clinic opened for business on April 18. Its regular hours are set for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and from 8 a.m. until noon on Saturdays. The clinic is closed on Sundays and holidays.

The clinic provides a variety of services meant to help Pinellas County’s homeless population. Services include medical, dental and behavioral health care, the county said in an announcement of its upcoming dedication ceremony.

According to the county’s 2015 Point-in-Time Survey, Pinellas is home to more than 3,000 homeless adults ages 18 and over. Those numbers don't include children.

Homeless people in need of care can report to the new facility as walk-ins, county spokesman Nicholas Zoller told Patch.

“Individuals can walk in, complete an application and if eligible they will receive a card that allows them to immediately begin accessing available services,” Zoller said.

Although a federal grant paid for construction, ongoing operations will be funded partially through the Pinellas County Human Services department, Zoller said. Other ongoing funding will come from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services moving forward.

Last year, the county’s provided care to 2,339 homeless people, county documents show. Much of that care was provided through the Mobile Medical Unit, which is a clinic on wheels. The county's Mobile Medical Unit has offered primary care services to homeless residents for the past 23 years. In 2014, the county noted that tobacco abuse, hypertension and obesity accounted for about 67 percent of the diagnoses made through its agencies serving the homeless population.

For more information on the services available, visit www.PinellasCounty.org/humanservices online. The dedication is set to take place at the 14808 49th St. N. clinic at 10 a.m. on Monday.

Photo courtesy of Pinellas County

Sign up for the Clearwater Patch newsletter and alerts!

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, too!