Summit Community Care Clinic plans weekday primary care, expands school dental services in Lake County

Summit Community Care Clinic told the Lake County Board of County Commissioners on the afternoon agenda that it will expand primary-care services in Lake County from two days a week to five beginning around April and is preparing a school-based dental renovation to enable restorative dental care at Lake County High School.

Clinic representatives said the organization — a nonprofit federally qualified health center that has operated in Lake County since about 2015 — already provides primary care, behavioral health and dental services in the county and intends the expansion to reduce travel barriers for residents who now commute for care.

The expansion and school renovation are the most immediate changes presented. Clinic staff said primary care at the Lake County Public Health site served 518 unique patients and generated 966 visits in 2024, and that their local dental office served 964 patients last year. The clinic also operates a school-based health center at Lake County High School and behavioral-health counselors in the schools. Clinic representatives said they will run primary care five days per week “on or around April 1,” enabling more appointments locally.

Why it matters: Clinic leaders said the county’s residents face long travel times to access care, and that greater local availability should reduce missed care and financial strain on families. The clinic described a sliding-fee scale that gives discounts to patients at or below 200% of the federal poverty level; clinic staff said roughly half of the Lake/Leadville patients they serve currently qualify for those discounts.

Details and funding: Representatives described the clinic’s mixed revenue model: roughly half of organizational revenue comes from patient insurance and self-pay; the other half comes from grants and donations. They said federal funding accounts for about 10% of the total budget. The presenters asked the county to consider nonrecurring support, letters of partnership, and help publicizing expanded hours; county staff said the county covers utilities for the clinic’s space in the public-health building and that the county recently reduced direct Title X family-planning funding so the clinic could apply for those funds.

School dental renovation: The clinic said it has a grant that would pay for renovation and equipment at the Lake County High School school-based health center to allow monthly on-site restorative dental procedures (beyond cleanings and sealants), enabling students who otherwise cannot travel to receive fillings or other restorative care during the school day. Clinic staff said the school-level visits would never cost more than $45 at the school-based center and would be open to enrolled students, staff and immediate family members. Clinic staff said the school-based dental program will be available to any student enrolled in the district.

Pediatric dental practice discussions: Clinic leaders described ongoing talks about taking over an existing pediatric dental practice in the region whose owner is nearing retirement; if the transition is approved by the clinic’s board it would increase local pediatric dental capacity and make sliding-fee discounts available to patients who previously could not afford pediatric care.

Medicaid and enrollment work: Presenters said about 26% of the clinic’s Lake County patients have Medicaid, and that state actions that reduce Medicaid coverage would increase uninsured demand. The clinic said it has a Medicaid enrollment specialist on staff and is rolling out a tool (PointCare) intended to identify patients at risk of losing coverage and help them re-enroll.

Outreach and branding: Clinic staff announced an organizational rebrand (presenters described choosing a new name that signals “quality” as part of their three operating pillars: access, stewardship and quality) and said they will launch marketing to notify Lake County residents about the expanded weekday primary care schedule and school-based services. They asked the county to include the clinic in local outreach channels and to consider letters of support for grants.

What’s next: The clinic said it will finalize operational plans for the five-day primary-care schedule and the school renovation, continue grant-seeking for sustained operations, and requested continued coordination with county public-health staff and other local providers to avoid duplicative services and support referrals.

Speakers quoted in this article are staff from Summit Community Care Clinic and county participants during the Lake County Board of County Commissioners work session. The clinic’s statements were framed as plans or ambitions; the county did not vote on funding or take a formal action during the presentation.