Racine opens its first Federally Qualified Health Center inside a public school

Racine’s first Federally Qualified Health Center opened in late July inside Julian Thomas Elementary School. 

It’s the first FQHC in the city, providing residents with medical, dental and mental health services in a historically underserved area with significant health disparities.

“This project represents a major milestone in expanding health care access in Racine,” said Dr. Mary Ouimet, CEO of Pillar Health/Kenosha Community Health Center Inc., which is operating the clinic. 

While the clinic is housed in the school building, patients will access the health center through a separate door than that used by Thomas students and families.

The opening of the clinic hasn’t been easy. 

Just before COVID in January 2020, Ascension Wisconsin announced it would contribute $1 million for the project. 

The city, county and Gateway Technical College included $50,000 each in their budgets at the time to help establish the clinic. 

But the project fell apart. 

At the time, Mayor Cory Mason said Racine was the largest urban area without a Federally Qualified Health Center.

Mason did not return requests for comment from WPR. 

FQHCs are community-based health care providers that provide access to primary care regardless of a patient’s ability to pay, using a sliding fee scale based on income. 

The purpose is to provide high-quality, affordable care to underserved urban and rural communities in neighborhoods, rather than emergency rooms where care is most expensive, Ouimet said.

Ouimet said Mason’s office approached Pillar Health about getting the project off the ground. 

The clinic is partnering with Racine’s new Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, a $68 million project near Julian Thomas Elementary School that’s expected to open in mid-2026. 

“I thought it was great insight by everybody, not only to stabilize a new health center but also create a big, beautiful community center, but also work to get these resources in that school,” Ouimet said. “We’ve heard directly from the community that they want accessible, trusted and affordable care closer to home.” 

Ouimet is hoping to serve 3,500 people in the first year. 

Being located inside Julian Thomas Elementary School will be an opportunity to serve families and the surrounding neighborhood, said Stacy Tapp, spokesperson for the Racine Unified School District.

“We’ve been working with Pillar to get communication about the clinic out to our families, especially right now when families with school-aged children may be scheduling sports physicals and immunizations,” Tapp said. 

Dave Cole with WPR affiliate WGTD contributed to this report.