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A location close to the center of town is a major reason Piedmont Access to Health Services recently proposed to move to the Chatham armory building, PATHS CEO Kay Crane said.

“The location is good,” Crane said. “Many of our patients walk to us. Being downtown is a big plus.”

Crane proposed expanding PATHS’ Chatham location into the armory building at a Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors meeting last week. Crane said PATHS has grown out of its current 4,000-square-foot facility on Main Street, and the 10,600-square-foot armory is one of the locations being considered.

One of the first things PATHS would do in the new space is add another doctor, Crane said. PATHS’ current facility is almost at capacity for patients. The clinic saw more than 1,000 patients last month.

Additionally, Crane said PATHS is working on funding a comprehensive women’s health center for preventative and OB-GYN care. Currently, women in the county must either drive to Danville or Lynchburg for those services, Crane said.

For funding, Crane said PATHS plans to reinvest the money from selling its current Main Street location. Crane said she asked county supervisors for the armory location because she knew both buying and renovating the space was not possible.

Crane said the proposal also was supported by both the Pittsylvania County Department of Social Services and Danville Regional Medical Center CEO Alan Larson.

“This is a real community endeavor,” Crane said.

The Virginia National Guard Armory moved from the Chatham location in March to the Virginia National Guard Readiness Center in Danville as part of the federal Readiness Center Transformation Master Plan.

Pittsylvania County owned the armory property before the structure was built in the 1950s. Supervisors voted March 7 to notify the state the county wants the property back.

The Virginia Department of General Services’ Division of Real Estate Services will determine whether to return the location to Pittsylvania County.

PATHS currently has locations in Danville, Chatham, Martinsville and Boydton. The nonprofit helps the uninsured and underprivileged in the area with primary and specialty care, case management, prescriptions and other services.

Article Originally Published at http://www.godanriver.com/news/pittsylvania_county/paths-location-key-in-chatham-move/article_30804596-0b3a-11e6-be54-1b7217f4cb7b.html on April 25, 2016.