New health facility to hold open house

A public open house for the new Covered Bridge Healthcare facility in Centreville takes place 2 to 4 p.m. Friday.
The 1,980-square-foot facility, remembered by many locals as a former doctor’s office operated by the late medical specialist, Frank Olney, is located just east of the sheriff’s department.
The center is funded through a $990,000 annual federal grant renewed every 12 months over a three-year period, director Lynn Dobberteen said. She said the grant is a competitive renewal after its third year.
It opened July 15 and required a 10-week period that saw an extensive amount of remodeling performed, as the site formerly housed the St. Joseph County Area Narcotics unit. The public features of the facility include four patient rooms, an outreach/enrollment room, an administrator office and a provider office.
Dobberteen said Covered Bridge Healthcare offers services that aid people with medical and dental needs, people who have diabetes, and anyone with general health and social needs.
It is open to the general public but the center is trying to market itself to the county’s Hispanic population and Amish residents, she added.
It also will serve as an outreach site to inmates at the adjacent county jail.
Tahir Alvi is the medical director of Covered Bridge Healthcare, which is renting the building from the county for $3,000 a month.