ROGERS CITY – McLaren Northern Michigan and Thunder Bay Community Health Service are working on a partnership that will expand health care services in Rogers City and Onaway.

McLaren Northern Michigan is planning to move staff and four primary care providers from its Rogers City clinic to Thunder Bay Community Health Service’s location in town, according to a statement from David Zechman, McLaren Northern Michigan president and CEO. The partnership will also bring McLaren primary care providers to Thunder Bay Community Health Service’s clinic in Onaway.

Zechman said Thunder Bay Health Care Service’s clinics are Federally Qualified Health Centers, so patients can get more services, and at a sliding fee based on income.

“This is a model of care that is increasingly attractive in rural health care to ensure access to more services, for more people,” he said.

The move will create an increase of primary care providers in Rogers City, Zechman said. McLaren’s facility will still provide specialty services, including cardiology, nephrology, mammography and several others, and its laboratory will remain open. More specialty services are being considered, depending on need within the community. The change should take effect in two to three months.

By bringing the primary care services of McLaren’s providers under Thunder Bay Community Health Service’s federally qualified health center designation, the partnership gives Presque Isle County residents good access opportunities, according to a release from Thunder Bay Community Health Service. The designation means anyone can become a patient, regardless of insurance coverage.

Michelle Styma, Thunder Bay Community Health Service CEO, said the benefits go beyond Onaway and Rogers City and extend to their outlying communities.

“Our greatest concern is our patients and others in the community,” she said. “Our mission is to commit our resources to ‘building healthier communities,’ and that is exactly what we intend to do.”

McLaren Medical Group Director of Operations Kenneth Horrom said that since primary care services are expanding in Rogers City and Onaway, it’s possible that some patients will see a new provider.

Rural communities typically face health care access issues, and the partnership is a way for Thunder Bay Community Health Service to serve more patients and offer necessary access to specialty services, according to the community health center’s statement.

Thunder Bay Community Health Service provides comprehensive primary care services to underserved communities, according to Zechman’s statement. Those include a dental program, pharmacy and integrated behavioral health.

Styma said Thunder Bay Community Health Service has providers in transition due to growth opportunities, but none as a result of the partnership with McLaren Northern Michigan.

Jordan Travis can be reached via email at jtravis@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5688. Follow Jordan on Twitter @jt_alpenanews. Read his blog, A Snowball’s Chance, at www.thealpenanews.com.