ORANGE PARK – The Way Free Medical Clinic and Clay County Dental Care are combining forces at a new location on College Drive.

Both organizations offer free services and serve uninsured Clay County residents. At a press conference and groundbreaking Wednesday afternoon, both signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The 5,000-square-foot building will eventually be expanded to 7,500 square feet to accommodate dental services.

The coordinated care program is expected to double the free clinic patient intake within three years of being in operation, according to the organization. Way Free CEO Don Fann said the integrated dental and medical facility is unheard of. He called it the holy grail equivalent of similar facilities.

“You go to the left and there are dental services,” Fann said. “Going to the right, there’s the medical clinic.”

Fann said the services are vital to uninsured patients, who otherwise wouldn’t have a route to care. He said more potential patients can be accessed with the location change.

“I know we can double the number we serve within the next three years. The current population lives in rings around Green Cove Springs clinic,” Fann said. “Establishing a clinic in the northern part of Clay County will geographically draw more patients.”

The campaign to redevelop the site and launch the Expanding Capacity to Care Initiative, raised $1 million of its $1.5 million goal, the total cost of the property renovation.

“The community has been tremendously supportive of this project evidenced by the ability to raise $1 million in the silent phase of the campaign,” Fann said. “I’m confident we’ll be able to make our goal. It’s really the community that made this happen.”

The 302 College Dr. clinic is the launch site of the ClayPASS Coordinated Medical Care program, which directs uninsured Clay County residents to appropriate care. Fann said he hoped the emerging care coordination system will be a model for other counties.

“It will essentially navigate uninsured patients to receive the appropriate care,” Fann said.

The move is occurring when the county is pushing to make College Drive a hub for culture, resources and care. A significant part of the College Drive Initiative is establishing a corridor for nonprofits.

Fann said he was involved in the initiative early on, and the clinic has been a constant supporter of making College Drive flourish. Mercy Support Services, Pace Center for Girls are among the non-profits that moved on the road that cuts from Blanding Boulevard to County Road 220.

“The initiative is going to make College Drive a social and community services and culture destination for Clay County,” Fann said.

“We’re already seeing the evidence of that with the influx of established and new nonprofits in that corridor as well as the county putting departments, notably among those nonprofit community services and veterans affairs.”

More information is available at thewayclinic.org.