SMA Healthcare to open primary care clinic on Flagler County health campus

Andrew Williams, vice president for Flagler County at SMA Healthcare, told the Board of County Commissioners on March 3 that SMA will open a primary care practice on the Flagler County Department of Health campus in Bunnell to increase access to medical care for patients served through SMA and the broader community. "The primary care practice is to provide continuous and ongoing medical care that is affordable, accessible, and patient centered," Williams said.

The nut graf: The co‑location aims to pair SMA’s behavioral health and substance‑use services with primary care to address complex needs in one setting, the presenters said. SMA already operates two sites in Bunnell — the Access Center and the Vince Carter Sanctuary — and said the integrated clinic will expand services available on the county health campus at 301 Dr. Carter Boulevard.

SMA representatives said the organization has provided mental‑health and substance‑use treatment in Flagler County since 1985 and served about 2,700 clients countywide in the most recent year. "Since we opened the Access Center in February 2022 to present, we have completed 1,311 screenings," Williams said. SMA described its service mix as residential, outpatient, prevention and crisis services and said the new primary care practice will offer routine well visits, chronic‑care management, point‑of‑care testing (for example, hemoglobin A1C and lead testing), first‑trimester prenatal care and referrals to OB‑GYN and dental partners.

Steve Civelli, administrator and health officer at the Flagler County Department of Health, described the county health campus and said the department will provide space and operational support for the SMA clinic. "We have treatment rooms. We'll give you supplies. You'll just come and work with us," Civelli said, summarizing the arrangement that led SMA to site primary care at the health department rather than at SMA’s other campus.

Karen Duncan, chief nursing officer for SMA, and Dr. Ferguson, medical director of primary care services, outlined care coordination features: a full‑time medical case manager to help patients with insurance applications, lab scheduling and transportation; partnerships with pharmaceutical patient‑assistance programs to bridge short gaps in medication access; and a planned pharmacy delivery program to mitigate transportation barriers. "Whether underinsured, uninsured, or have a co‑pay, we have a very generous sliding scale and if somebody comes in and they can't pay their $10 co‑pay, we don't turn them away," Dr. Ferguson said.

SMA also noted projected workforce growth tied to new projects: the organization said it currently employs nearly 70 staff in Flagler County and projects that number could double with planned initiatives; SMA expects the integrated stabilization unit in the men's residential program to add about 69 positions when it opens in 2026. The presenters invited commissioners to tour SMA programs and provided a public appointments number for the primary care service (386‑254‑1149).

Ending: Commissioners praised the partnership and the presentation; no formal county action was taken at the workshop. SMA and Department of Health staff said they will continue implementation steps and community outreach ahead of the clinic opening expected before the summer of 2025.