By J.R. Tidwell / Editor

One day each quarter residents in Chilton County will have access to a resource for primary healthcare that aims to bring its services to those who need them.

March 12 saw the first visit of the Be Well bus to Chilton County, where it set up shop at Cornerstone Fitness & Wellness, located at 110 Baker Avenue in Clanton.

The bus is part of the Be Well program, an initiative run by Brookwood Baptist Health.

“The Be Well program has been going for two years now, going on three,” said Adrienne Mathis, who helps coordinate the bus.

“Be Well is primary care on wheels. We go to different locations and see employers or patients that are off the street. We cover things like blood pressure, lab work for cholesterol and glucose and blood sugars.”

Patients who step on board the Be Well will have access to most any form of primary care.

“We can cover anything from the common cold to an annual wellness visit. There is no appointment needed; walk-ons are welcome,” Mathis said.

“We can do EKGs,” said LPN Laurie Baker. “We can do anything on the bus except for X-rays. “We do vaccines, flu shots, tetanus shots, pneumonia shots and TB skin tests.”

The third member of the team who works on the bus that made the trip to Clanton was nurse practitioner Ashley Cavender.

“We work out of Shelby (County), that’s where we report to,” Mathis said. “We work out of Brookwood Hospital and Princeton in Birmingham, and Walker and Citizens in Talladega.”

According to Baker, one major advantage of visiting the Be Well bus is the speed of the service.

“There is no four-hour wait to see a doctor,” she said. “You are in and out in 30 minutes. That’s checking in, triage, seeing the nurse practitioner and checking out. We bill through your local insurance provider.”

The Be Well program contacted Cornerstone Fitness & Wellness in Clanton before coming to Chilton County in order to secure a place to set up.

“I was contacted by the people at the hospital up in Shelby County, Brookwood Baptist,” said Cornerstone co-owner Barry Baker. “They needed a place here in Chilton County to park. They have a long history of serving this community. They want to continue that. They want to continue serving the community through primary care. We were excited about having them.”