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Richmond blood pressure center closes
The pandemic has claimed another victim – a Richmond-based clinic that treated low-income residents without health insurance for high blood pressure and related health conditions. After nearly 40 years of operation, the Richmond Area High Blood Pressure Center has closed its operation at 1200 W. Cary St. According to the former office manager, Pamela Moore-Barr, donations that kept the low-budget operation afloat dried up after COVID-19 hit in 2020. The clinic, which provided medication, heart tests and other services, was unable to find replacement dollars, Ms. Moore- Barr said, and quietly closed May 30 after referring patients to other health centers. “It was a sad day,” said Ms. Moore-Barr, who had been with the center since it opened in the spring of 1983. She was among the three remaining employees who were laid off. The center saw about 2,500 people a year and essentially was free. Patients were asked for a $10 donation but were treated anyway if they didn’t have it. Operating on less than $400,000 a year, the center relied heavily on volunteer physicians and nurses from VCU Health and other large health care operations. People who came to the center received checkups, heart tests, medication to control their blood pressure and referrals to specialists, if needed.
