CHEER and La Red Health Center open second clinic site

CHEER Inc. and La Red Health Center Inc. officially opened the second stage of their four-stage partnership May 10 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for La Red Health Center’s satellite site at CHEER’s Pelican Cove Activity Center in the Shoppes at Long Neck.

The two agencies entered into a partnership in 2017 to make healthcare more accessible to Sussex Countians by opening satellite sites to deliver services at CHEER activity centers. The first opened in August 2017 in Ocean View.

Two more satellite sites will soon open at CHEER’s Milton and Greenwood activity centers.
 On hand to assist in the ribbon-cutting ceremony was U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, who said everyone needs to have access to healthcare. In describing the teamwork of CHEER and La Red Health Center, he said, “Sussex County has tied our ropes together to accomplish better healthcare.”

Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, commended the two agencies for giving back to the community time and time again. “[CHEER and La Red Health Center] have built a system of networking to provide services where needed and when needed, and to do so with respect and dignity to their clients,” she said.

Representative Rich Collins, R-Millsboro, told the gathering of officials and senior citizens that the federal government has designated Sussex County as a problem area for healthcare. “We have the second-highest percentage of senior citizens [population] in the nation,” he said.

La Red Health Center Chief Executive Officer Brian Olson said La Red Health Center is working to be sure patients receive proper healthcare. “But in order to do that, we needed to take our services out into the community,” Olson said. With the opening of the Long Neck location, La Red Health Center now has seven clinical sites in Sussex County.

CHEER Chief Executive Officer Ken Bock reminded everyone that CHEER’s mission is about keeping senior citizens active and healthy in their communities. “This is a natural partnership,” Bock said. “We are looking forward to opening La Red Health Center satellite sites at Milton and Greenwood very soon.”

Healthcare services at Long Neck will be handled by La Red Health Center Chief Medical Officer Dr. Fabricio Alarcon and Claudia Pierce, a board-certified adult nurse practitioner. 

To make an appointment, call 302-855-1233.