Amherst County Community

Health Center

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134 Elon Rd, Madison Heights, VA 24572-2536, USA


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This month, the Johnson Health Center in Lynchburg became the first federally qualified health center to be named an Employer of Choice.

The designation — which is only given to four or five companies annually — means workers, employees and contractors choose to work for that employer when presented with other choices of employment because of draws like job stability and satisfaction and workplace culture. “A lot of people want to be employers of choice,” but few actually obtain that designation, said Joyce L. Gioia, of Employer of Choice International, Inc., which considers companies all over the world for the award.

A number of hospitals and health care systems are employers of choice, including Sentara.

The Johnson Health Center is a nonprofit that provides health care to patients in Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell. It has clinics in Bedford, Amherst and Lynchburg as well as two dental clinics and a pharmacy. It accepts all forms of insurance, including Medicaid, and serves patients who are under-insured or uninsured by providing them service on a sliding-fee scale.

The award means the company has a high level of performance, a level of workforce stability and continuity that preserves its knowledge base, high employee satisfaction and a strong bottom line, according to Gioia.

At any given time, 400 companies are in the process of seeking the designation from the organization, she said, adding companies typically make several attempts before actually winning the distinction.

The Johnson Health Center probably has a better culture than most, and most of them have more resources than the Johnson Health Center, according to Gioia.

Johnson Health Center began applying for the award for the first time in August 2014 and only learned the results this month.

“There’s a lot that went into this,” said Gary Campbell, CEO of Johnson Health Center.

The process included an in-depth survey of all employees and an evaluation of the company’s culture, leadership, customer care, growth and opportunity, meaningful work, compensation and benefits, employee loyalty and performance results.

In the case of Johnson Health Center, 82 percent of employees responded to the surveys, which Gioia said is significant.

“It was the best culture that we have ever looked at,” Gioia said. “They scored the highest on our survey in terms of some of the questions that we asked.”

Nicolette Coleman, registered nurse care manager for Johnson Health Center, said the questions essentially asked employees if they were happy working at the health center.

“I answered yes to pretty much everything,” said Coleman, a military veteran who has worked at the center for seven years come September.

She started with the company as a licensed practical nurse but said the work inspired her to pursue her Registered Nurse license, which made her more marketable. She originally had planned to leave the area. As she watched the center grow, add staff and develop health teams specifically to care holistically for patients, she decided to stay.

“We all work together. There is no bickering; it’s not like a catty office,” she said. “The providers are very approachable and helpful and give you a lot of insight. The communication … we all approach each other respectfully.”

The award doesn’t mean things are perfect, though.

Coleman said communication always can be improved, and the center could use some more space. The downtown clinic has outgrown its physical space, even as the demand for health care services continues to increase, Coleman said.

“I chose to stay at the Johnson Health Center because we are a very caring group of people. To work here is an awesome experience,” she said.

Article originally in the News and Advance 

Johnson Health Center is a non-profit, independent, Federally Qualified Health Center serving Lynchburg and the counties of Amherst, Bedford and Campbell. The health center is governed by a board of directors composed of at least 51% of our patient population.

Our mission is to provide affordable and comprehensive healthcare with quality services and strong community partnerships.

Community Health Centers were created 50 years ago in order to increase access to healthcare in medically underserved areas. Johnson Health Center is proud to offer comprehensive primary health care services to anyone seeking care in the community.

All insurances are accepted and reduced fees are offered to uninsured and underinsured patients.


Primary Focus of the Provider

  • Substance Abuse Treatment Services
  • Mental Health Treatment Services
  • Mix of Mental Health and Substance Abuse
  • General health services

Type of Care

  • Mental health treatment
  • Substance abuse treatment
  • Detoxification
  • Methadone maintenance
  • Methadone maintenance for predetermined time
  • Methadone detoxification
  • Buprenorphine maintenance
  • Buprenorphine maintenance for predetermined time
  • Buprenorphine detoxification
  • Relapse prevention from naltrxone
  • Buprenorphine used in treatment
  • Naltrexone (oral)
  • Vivitrol (injectable Naltrexone)
  • Methadone
  • Transitional housing or halfway house
  • Do not treat opiod addiction
  • Use methadone/buprenorphoine for pain management or emergency dosing
  • Do not use medication for opioid addiction
  • Accepts clients on opioid medication
  • Prescribes/administer buprenorphine and/or naltrexone
  • All Clients in Opioid Treatment Program
  • SAMHSA-certified Opioid Treatment Program

Facility Type

  • Psychiatric hospital or psychiatric unit of a general hospital
  • Residential treatment center (RTC) for children
  • Residential treatment center (RTC) for adults
  • Other residential treatment facility
  • Partial hospitalization/day treatment
  • Outpatient mental health facility
  • Community mental health center
  • Multi-setting mental health facility (e.g., residential plus outpatient)

Treatment Approaches

  • Individual psychotherapy
  • Couples/family therapy
  • Group therapy
  • Cognitive/behavioral therapy
  • Dialectical behavioral therapy
  • Behavior modification
  • Integrated dual disorders treatment
  • Trauma therapy
  • Activity therapy
  • Electroconvulsive therapy
  • Psychotropic medication
  • Telemedicine therapy
  • Substance abuse counseling approach
  • Trauma-related counseling
  • Rational emotive behavioral therapy

Facility Smoking Policy

  • Smoking not permitted
  • Smoking permitted in designated area
  • Smoking permitted without restriction

Service Setting (e.g., Outpatient, Residential, etc.)

  • Hospital inpatient
  • Residential
  • Partial hospitalization/day treatment
  • Outpatient
  • Short-term residential
  • Long-term residential
  • Residential detoxification
  • Outpatient detoxification
  • Outpatient methadone/buprenorphine or vivitrol
  • Outpatient day treatment or partial hospitalization
  • Intensive outpatient treatment
  • Regular outpatient treatment
  • Hospital inpatient detoxification
  • Hospital inpatient treatment
  • Computerized treatment
  • General Hospital(including VA hospital)
  • Psychiatric hospital

Facility Operation (e.g. Private, Public)

  • Private organization
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  • State mental health authority
  • Other state government agency
  • Regional/district or county, local or municipal government
  • Tribal government
  • Indian Health Service
  • State Government
  • Local, county, or community government
  • Department of Defense
  • State substance abuse agency
  • State mental health department
  • State department of health
  • Hospital licensing authority
  • The Joint Commission
  • Commission on Accreditation and Rehabilitation
  • National Committee for Quality Assurance
  • Council on Accreditation
  • Healthcare Facilitiues Accreditation Program
  • Other national oraganization

Payment/Insurance Accepted

  • No payment accepted
  • Cash or self-payment
  • Medicaid
  • Medicare
  • State financed health insurance plan other than Medicaid
  • Private health insurance
  • Military insurance (e.g., TRICARE)
  • IHS/Tribal/Urban (ITU) funds
  • Access to recovery (ATR) voucher
  • State mental health agency (or equivalent) funds
  • State welfare or child and family services funds
  • State corrections or juvenile justice funds
  • State education funds
  • Other State funds
  • County or local government funds
  • Community Service Block Grants
  • Community Mental Health Block Grants
  • U.S Department of VA funds
  • Federal, or any government funding for substance abuse programs

Emergency Mental Health Services

  • Crisis intervention team
  • Psychiatric emergency walk-in services

Payment Assistance Available

  • Sliding fee scale (fee is based on income and other factors)
  • Payment assistance (check with facility for details)

Language Services

  • Services for the deaf and hard of hearing
  • Spanish
  • Native American Indian or Alaska Native languages
  • Other languages(excluding Spanish)

Special Programs/Groups Offered

  • Persons with co-occurring mental and substance abuse disorders
  • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) clients
  • Veterans
  • Active duty military
  • Military families
  • Clients referred from the court/judicial system
  • Seniors or older adults
  • Adolescents
  • Pregnant/postpartum women
  • Adult women
  • Adult men
  • Persons with HIV or AIDS
  • Persons who have experienced trauma
  • Persons who have experienced sexual abuse
  • Persons who have experienced intimate partner violence, domestic violence
  • Children with serious emotional disturbance (SED)
  • Persons with serious mental illness (SMI)
  • Persons with Alzheimer's or dementia
  • Persons with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • Transitional age young adults
  • Persons with eating disorders

Ancillary Services

  • Assertive community treatment
  • Intensive case management
  • Case management
  • Chronic disease/illness management
  • Consumer-run (peer-support) services
  • Court-ordered outpatient treatment
  • Diet and exercise counseling
  • Education services
  • Family psychoeducation
  • Housing services
  • Illness management and recovery
  • Integrated primary care service
  • Legal advocacy
  • Nicotine replacement therapy
  • Non-nicotine smoking/tobacco cessation medications
  • Psychosocial rehabilitation services
  • Screening for tobacco use
  • Suicide prevention services
  • Supported employment
  • Supported housing
  • Therapeutic foster care
  • Smoking/tobacco cessation counselling
  • Vocational rehabilitation services
  • Alcohol Detoxification
  • Benzodiazepines Detoxification
  • Cocaine Detoxification
  • Methamphetamines Detoxification
  • Opiods Detoxification
  • Treatment for gambling disorder
  • Treatment for internet use disorder
  • Individual counseling offered
  • Group counseling offered
  • Family counseling offered
  • Marital/couples counseling offered
  • 12-step faciltitation approach
  • Brief intervention approach
  • Contingency management/motivational incentive
  • Motivational interviewing
  • Anger management
  • Martix Model
  • Community reinforcement plus vouchers
  • Relapse prevention
  • Residential beds for clients children

Age Groups Accepted

  • Children/adolescents
  • Young adults
  • Adults
  • Seniors (65 or older)

Gender Accepted

  • Female
  • Male

Exclusive Services

  • Methadone and buprenorphine clients only
  • Methadone clients only
  • DUI/DWI clients
  • Serve only DWI clients

  • Amherst County Community

    134 Elon Rd, Madison Heights, VA 24572-2536