Former school transformed into community health clinic

By Jeff Harrison
Midwest City Beacon

A former Mid-Del elementary school has a new purpose.

Highland Park Elementary School, which closed two years ago, recently reopened as a community health clinic serving residents in southeast Oklahoma City and Del City.

Community Health Centers of Oklahoma purchased the former school building in 2022 and transformed it into the Highland Park Medical Center, located at 5301 S. Dimple Dr. in Oklahoma City.

The clinic hosted a grand opening celebration on Aug. 2. The event included tours of the facility, food, snow cones, free haircuts and more. Representatives from Del City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Mid-Del Schools and the Del City Chamber of Commerce attended the celebration.

Leondra Moore, clinical director of behavioral health services at Community Health Centers of Oklahoma, said Highland Park Medical Center will fill a need for health services in the area.

“We offer high quality, comprehensive and affordable services to the community,” Moore said.

The new center will provide medical, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, and healthy start for children and families. It will also provide space for community partners.

“We will bring those services closer to people,” Moore said. “We’re affordable, accessible and connect with the community.”

Community Health accepts all insurance platforms and offers assistance for people who are underinsured or uninsured.

Mid-Del Schools Superintendent Rick Cobb said he was excited to sell the unused property and believes it would provide a needed service for residents in southeast Oklahoma City and Del City.

“This is going to provide a lot of healthcare access for our community that maybe didn’t exist before,” he said. “This is a really exciting day because I didn’t think it was coming this quickly.”

Mid-Del Schools closed Highland Park and Steed elementary schools after the 2021-22 school year due to declining enrollment and maintenance and upkeep of the building.

It took about 18 months to renovate the school building into the community health center.

The Highland Park Family Medical Center opened on May 6. They currently offer family medicine and hope to have all services available in late September.

The facility serves about 15-20 patients per day currently. Moore expects that to grow as they add more services.

“This is our eighth location, and we anticipate this being our largest reach campus with a lot of apartments in the neighborhood,” Moore said. “A lot of people are excited because they have to drive 30 minutes to their providers and now, they can walk here.”

Community Health Centers of Oklahoma is a federally qualified health center in central Oklahoma that provides primary health care and other health-related services on a sliding scale income basis.

The non-profit organization operates eight locations in the metro as well as the Mary Mahoney Memorial Health Center in Oklahoma City. Additional sites serve infants, children, families and the homeless in rural Oklahoma.

For more information, visit http://www.chciokc.org.

 

 

Community Health Centers had been serving underserved populations for 50 years.

SUPERINTENDENT RICK COBB
Superintendent Rick Cobb has been impressed with
“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work for Community Health Centers,” he said. “They had a vision they articulated when they bought the property that I maybe didn’t fully see.”
Cobb said he was excited to sell the unused property and believes it would provide a needed service for residents in southeast Oklahoma City and Del City.
“This is going to provide a lot of healthcare access for our community that maybe didn’t exist before,” he said. “This is a really exciting day because I didn’t think it was coming this quickly.”
Cobb said the district is still trying to sell the former Jarman Middle School.

“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work for Community Health Centers,” he said. “They had a vision they articulated when they bought the property that I maybe didn’t fully see.”