Duke, city envision wellness facility
Community center plans for old school would include clinic

By Ginny Skalski

North-East Central Durham residents could eventually be treated for the flu, get vaccinated or screened for vision and hearing impairments at the now-shuttered Holton Middle School.

Duke University Health System is working with city officials to establish a wellness clinic somewhere inside the 90,000-square-foot building. The city hopes to convert the vacant building into a community center that offers job training classes and activities for youth.

Mayor Bill Bell approached Victor Dzau, president and chief executive officer of the health system, and MaryAnn Black, the associate vice president for community relations for the health system, about the idea earlier this year, Black said.

"It fits with one of Dr. Dzau's highest priorities," Black said. "He is very positive about Duke medicine and wants Duke medicine to be a positive influence in the Durham community and a good corporate citizen."

Although planning is in the early stages, Black said the proposed clinic would be similar to wellness centers in the West End neighborhood's Lyon Park Community Life & Recreation Center at 1313 Halley St. and the Walltown Neighborhood Clinic in a renovated bungalow at 815 Broad St.

"The communities that have wellness centers seem to embrace the idea," Black said. "[They] love that they can stay in the community and get some good quality healthcare, and if a referral is needed [they] know they can get referred to the health system."

Lincoln satellites

The existing clinics are operated by the Duke Division of Community Health and are satellites of the Lincoln Community Health Center, according to Susan Yaggy, who heads the Duke division. The clinics accept Medicaid, Medicare, N.C. Health Choice for Children and other insurance. Patients without insurance pay a fee based on Lincoln's sliding scale, which Yaggy said is as low as $10 per visit.

Enrollment at both clinics is booming, with 2,700 patients registered at Lyon Park and 800 patients enrolled at Walltown, which only began accepting patients in February, Yaggy said.

Duke is waiting for the results of a city feasibility study analyzing space at Holton Middle School before proceeding with more specific plans, Black said. Ultimately, health officials will sponsor community meetings in North-East Central Durham to see what needs residents have.

In early stage

"We truly are in stage one and that is the stage of finding out what the study will tell us, what the needs are and then working collaboratively with the city and the county to understand how to move forward on all fronts," Black said.

City officials have partnered with the county and the school district to come up with a plan for turning the former school into a community center. In November, the city will ask voters to consider a bond referendum that includes $7.68 million to renovate the building.

One of the biggest advocates of converting the school building is North-East Central Durham resident Melvin Whitley. He said eastern Durham suffers from a lack of wellness centers, which forces its aging population to find rides to clinics in northern and western Durham.

"You find the senior population, they don't want to go through a lot of changes to get what they need," Whitley said. "If there was a resource close by, we could solve a lot of problems earlier, quicker and cheaper. When we engage in preventive medicine, then the cost of medicine goes down."

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