The full-service health care facility that is the new home of Tallahassee's Big Bend Cares had a public open house on Saturday (11/4). However the event was not without its critics.
Big Bend Cares Board Vice Chair Dan Taylor was helping welcome visitors to the new Carepoint Center on Saturday. "It's a day of celebration," he remarked, standing in the airy lobby of the building at the corner of South Monroe and South Magnolia Drive on the city's South Side. "It's a community celebration and open house and we're trying to wrap our arms around the community and the response has been super!"
But on the nearby Adams Street sidewalk were about half-a-dozen protestors, including long-time critic Dr. Ed Holifield. Big Bend Cares' lawyer had sent Holifield a letter asking him to stay off the property so as not to disrupt the event.
"What are we going to do?" he said, responding to a reporter's question. "We're going to make them accountable. We're going to make sure they see not just the paying patients, but the uninsured as well."
Meanwhile Board Member Taylor insisted the Carepoint Center will welcome patients with any insurance or no insurance. The facility is expected to be fully open by December 1st.
