ERIE, Ill. — On Friday, the Erie community and Morrison Community Hospital celebrated the opening of the community's newest clinic. This comes after the village's previous clinic, Genesis Health Group, closed in June.
Erie resident Teresa Keag said the clinic is a win for the community.
"We're so thankful that our small rural community is saved," Keag said. "We were so concerned when the old clinic closed, we didn't know where to turn. But luckily Morrison Community Hospital came in and helped us."
CEO of Morrison Community Hospital Pam Pfister says her team moved in the day after Genesis closed. Since then, she worked alongside Genesis nurses to keep services around the area.
"We are very fortunate that Ruth Fielder-Eaton, who was a nurse practitioner here for 25 years, the rest were able to help us," Pfister added. "She was retained as our employee, and so was her entire support staff. With them, it really makes the transition very seamless."
With the reopening of the clinic, the clinic will be able to take care of its 2,000 patients, including Keag's husband.
"The first day this reopened, my husband came that afternoon," Keag said. "He had fallen and we were so thankful that we didn't have to go to an ER or go out of town to be cared for. It's why we're grateful to keep this clinic open because it's a part of small-town, rural communities. It's the backbone of America, and we just want to do that community proud."
The clinic has been seeing patients since mid-July.