To keep up with the ever-increasing need for health care services on St. Croix, Frederiksted Health Care, LLC, dedicated a new building last week to house outreach services, financial, and administrative staff.
FHC was founded in 1982 in the renovated Frederiksted Hospital and the Ingeborg Nesbitt Clinic and is 501(c)(3) federally qualified community health care facility that offers primary care. The North Shore Health Center was opened in 2014, and the Mid-Island Health Center was opened in the United Shopping Plaza a few years later. Laboratory services are available at all three locations.
According to Masserae Sprauve Webster, FHC cares for almost one-quarter of the island’s population, around 10,000 people, with health care for newborns, children, adults, the elderly and maternity care as well. There is also care for the homeless and HIV/AIDS prevention.
In 2015, behavioral and psychiatric care services began with a monthly visit from a psychiatrist. Webster said that although they have a grant for more staff, they haven’t been able to find enough qualified people.
Most recently, major construction converted a three-car garage into a dental practice, with services for children and adults in all three locations.
“We have about 45,000 visits annually,” Webster said. “The mission statement does not allow them to refuse services to anyone.”
In addition to in-house services, staff visit the homeless with food and medication. Not only have they found work for several people, but some of the clients have become more open to talking about their needs and even request mental health care.
The dedication of the new building was held in conjunction with National Health Center Week. In addition to the celebration, staff collected canned and dry goods for those in need at Flambouyant Gardens for the Elderly and employees also picked up trash along a stretch of road leading to the new Frederiksted pool.
Funding for FHC includes $3 million from the federal government, $3 million from the government of the Virgin Islands and roughly $6 million for services provided — including Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance companies. Services are billed on a sliding scale, Webster said, and sometimes patients who cannot pay are not charged.
Many of FHC patients are uninsured or underinsured. To qualify for Medicaid in the Virgin Islands, the patient’s annual income cannot exceed $15,000, but patients on the mainland can be eligible with an income of up to $25,000, according to Webster. Additionally, once the federal government has covered $140 million in charges in a year, FHC is cut off for the rest of the year. In fact, FHC will not receive reimbursements for the rest of 2025.
A 15-member board manages Frederiksted Health Care Inc. Federal law requires 51% to be “consumers” or patients.
Asked if FHC anticipates any funding cuts from the current Trump administration, Webster said the AIDS/HIV prevention grant could be in danger. Currently, they receive a treatment grant not included in the “Big Beautiful Bill,” but the prevention grant could be at risk.
All of the federal grants received by FHC are for specific purposes, so the total federal grant should not be affected.
“That grant our practitioners are telling us to prepare to see it being discontinued,” Webster said. The facility will continue to provide the service with fewer staff members, she added.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article misstated the date that Frederiksted Health Care was founded. It was established in 1982, not 2000.
