A lifeline for patients in need: AdventHealth’s community clinic makes a remarkable impact in Lake County

Teresa Ledford of Leesburg was out of work, and after receiving a stage 3 melanoma diagnosis, she was in need of care. Fortunately, she discovered the AdventHealth Waterman Community Primary Health Clinic in Eustis. Ledford, who is now cancer free, also has been able to find a job that affords her the ability to get insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

“I wouldn’t have been able to afford the surgeries or the specialists or even coming [to the clinic] for services,” Ledford said. “They even helped me with my medications – some of them that were really expensive and I couldn’t afford to pay for on my own. They contacted the manufacturer and got me the medication.”

Rena Weldon a Eustis resident also found herself in need after seeking care in the emergency department at AdventHealth Waterman for a kidney infection.

During her visit to the AdventHealth Waterman Community Primary Health Clinic, the team recommended Weldon get an annual screening mammogram. This test, along with a subsequent biopsy, revealed she had stage 1 breast cancer.

“Everything kind of fell into place,” Weldon said. “With me going to the clinic and doing the mammogram, getting me in there and making sure that I had it done.”

Weldon, who recently celebrated four years of being cancer-free, also found comfort in the support she received from everyone at the clinic. Without the intervention of those at the hospital and the clinic, Weldon believes she would have put off getting a mammogram and might not be alive today.

“I was very lucky. It all fell into place for a reason,” said Weldon.

Ledford and Weldon’s stories are two of thousands who have been positively impacted by the clinic. The AdventHealth Waterman Community Primary Health Clinic has provided more than 40,000 patient visits since it opened in 2000.

To help continue caring for this ever-growing need in the community, the clinic recently received a $200,000 appropriation during the spring 2023 legislative session. These funds will help the clinic care for even more uninsured patients and hire an additional nurse and social worker.

To learn more about the AdventHealth Waterman Community Primary Health Clinic, click here.