In the early 2000s, longtime St. John’s staff doctor John Bentley jumped at the chance of directing the medical care of a startup clinic for Medicaid and low-income patients. With backing of a $1.3 million federal grant, he and other founders opened Jordan Valley Community Health Center in a small storefront on East Division. Today, the health center occupies a 75,000-square-foot center city building with 25 care providers, and Bentley is among its 10 physicians.
The health center has established the Bentley Fund at Community Foundation of the Ozarks to help cover medication purchases for patients who struggle to afford them. Bentley previously had a 35-year affiliation with St. John’s, including chief of staff in 1985.
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