New Kilmichael Clinic holds first heath fair this Saturday

The new Kilmichael Clinic will host their first health fair in four years. The fair is scheduled for Saturday between 8 a.m. and noon. (Photo by Monica Land)

By Monica Land

KILMICHAEL – Dr. Katrina Poe and the new Kilmichael Clinic in Montgomery County will hold their first health fair since they opened their doors in September 2012.

The new Kilmichael Clinic will host their first health fair in four years. The fair is scheduled for Saturday between 8 a.m. and noon. (Photo by Monica Land)

In conjunction with Kilmichael Hospital, the fair will be held on Saturday, May 18, in front of the hospital at 301 Lamar Avenue from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Eulandia Thompson, Office Manager for Kilmichael Clinic, said the health fair will feature several health-related vendors including Mid-Delta, Sta-Home and Legacy Hospice.

“The purpose of the fair is to help families make good health care decisions when and if that need arises,” Thompson said. “We will not be offering any medical screenings at this time. But our focus is to provide information on home health care, therapy and long term services.”

Thompson, who organized the health fair along with employees of the clinic, said there will be activities for all, food and fun for the community.

“We haven’t had a health fair since 2008,” she said. “And we are going to do more in the future. But we’re looking forward to this event being a joyous and eventful occasion for the entire community.”

Located just across the street from the hospital, the new state-of-the-art Kilmichael Clinic was made possible with a $1.4 million loan from the USDA Rural Development’s Community Facility Program.

“The Community Facilities Program is a vital funding source available to rural communities to help them keep pace with the needs of their rising populations,” said USDA State Director Trina George. “Quality hospitals, schools and libraries are the building blocks for a vibrant rural America.”

The original clinic was part of Kilmichael Hospital which dates back to the 1940s. The clinic was still operational until the new building was complete.

An open house for the public was held on Sept. 28, 2012.

Dr. Poe is the first black and first female doctor to head both the clinic and the 19-bed hospital. Her husband, Calvin Johnson, is the hospital’s administrator.

Dr. Katrina Poe (center), her husband, Calvin Johnson (l) and Trina George (r) of the USDA, celebrate the clinic's open house and ribbon cutting on Sept. 28, 2012. (USDA photo)

A graduate of Mississippi State University, Dr. Poe was voted “Country Doctor of the Year” in 2006 and she has been featured on NBC News and numerous other magazines and publications for her extraordinary work with her patients.

Dr. Poe said even she is inspired by the new clinic.

“I truly feel like a provider now,” she said. “And we’re providing things that normally people in this area only get when they go to larger places like Jackson. They don’t feel cramped anymore. They’ve got space to relax in – and feel homey at the same time.”

Dr. Poe said her patients appreciate the new facility.

“The patients are so happy,” she said. “Just to see the look on their faces when they walk in…Patients love coming to a nice place to be taken care of and a lot of them come in and say they feel better already.”

With two large waiting areas in the lobby area; separate waiting areas with landscape views near the 10 exam rooms; treatment rooms and a lab, Dr. Poe said the new clinic affords her the chance to better treat her patients.

“It allows us to provide better medical care,” she said. “We were so limited with three exam rooms and two providers sharing three exam rooms which was a longer wait time for patients. Now there’s plenty of room for patients where you can come and get your lab work done, get your x-rays done in one place and still feel the comfort. We’re more productive and more effective.”