Even though Chester County is one of the wealthiest areas in the State, there are still over 40,000 residents without health insurance. As a result, health provider La Comunidad Hispana has stepped in to help alleviate this situation by opening its second federally qualified health center at 301 North Third Street in Oxford Borough.

The new center should help residents in the southwest corner of Chester County, as many of them have to travel more than 20 miles to get a clinic that does not require health insurance, to receive checkups, screenings and treatment.

This rural area of around 760 square miles has always been a challenge for healthcare as many of its residents have time sensitive work schedules and have little to no access to reliable transportation. This makes a trip to the doctor more complicated than in more urban areas according to Kim Bowman the Director of Human Services for Chester County.

“Because it’s a rural area” she said. “There is not the same volume of providers necessarily, and where they are, they’re hard to get to.”

Despite the fact that the county directory lists six community health clinics, according to the Pennsylvania Association of Community Health Providers that are only two federally qualified health centers in Chester County out of which, one is the Kennett Square La Comunidad Hispana clinic.

With its first location opened in 1973, La Comunidad Hispana also provides another valuable service, as it is fully equipped to deal with Chester County’s growing Hispanic population. In particular, over half of both Avondale and Kennett Square’s populations are now Hispanic, while Oxford is around a third.

“All of our services are provided in English and in Spanish so folks can communicate in their language of origin,” said Alisa Jones, President and CEO of La Comunidad Hispana. “Our mission is to serve the underserved, so all of our services are available on a sliding fee, and if folks simply don’t have any money, we still provide the service.”