Watch: A New Home for Access Carroll

Dozens of volunteers worked tirelessly last week to move Access Carroll into its new home in the Distillery Building at 10 Distillery Ave. in Westminster. Much of the move took place Thursday and Executive Director Tammy Black said the first patients would be seen in the new facility Friday.

Watch an interview with Tammy Black in the attached video and see what the new space looks like.

Access Carroll, Inc., is a nonprofit organization offering free health care to uninsured and underinsured, low-income residents of Carroll County who meet certain eligibility requirements. Primary medical care is provided by volunteer physicians, nurses and other experienced medical professionals.

According to the its website, by removing traditional barriers to quality health care, Access Carroll strives to help patients maintain good health and learn to manage acute or chronic illnesses.

According to Black, the new facility is just 13,000 square feet, 8,300 of which have been renovated to date. Access Carroll was operating out of 2,190 square feet up until last week. With more space, Black said she expects more physicians, nurses and support staff to volunteer and more people in need to be served.

"Before there wasn't even any space for people to sit or stand, so it kindof minimized the capacity of what we could do," Black said.

The new location offers seven medical exam rooms, four dental rooms, more support staff space, an office for providers (volunteer physicians) and a three-room pharmacy. Black said there is additional space for Access Carroll to continue to expand in the future.

Renovating the new space cost about $1.3 million including equipment. Black said the money came from grants and donations. The county gave Access Carroll a 17-year rent free lease.

"I really want to see this as a model that can be replicated in any community on a small or large scale," Black said. "It's many things to many people but really it's all about good health and a healthy community..."

See Also:

• Countdown to Westminster Fallfest: Access Carroll Charity Profile
• Access Carroll Waits for County to Decide Fate of Wheeler Building

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*This article was updated Dec. 3 to reflect the accurate square footage of the new offices.