UNION COUNTY

Union County is located in North Central Florida. It is the smallest of all Florida counties. The population is 13,459. The largest city is Lake Butler, where the Union County Health Department (UCHD) is found. According to the Office of the Governor, the 1997 median household income was $21,055. Most of Union County's labor force is employed by the state at area prison facilities.

The Union County Health Department has one office. There is a doctor on staff Tuesday morning and all day Monday and Wednesday. There is an OB/GYN Advanced Registered Nurse Practioner, (ARNP) on staff full time. They have a school health program, with three nurses full-time for each of the three schools in the county. They offer adult primary care to patients on a sliding fee scale, or on Medicaid. UCHD does not see patients who have private insurance. The following services are offered:

• Prenatal (every other Thursday)

• Maternity (Tuesday morning)

• Family planning (Tuesday afternoon)

• Adult primary care

• Healthy Start

• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) (Monday and Thursday)

• School health

• Pediatrics (Monday and Tuesday)

• Immunizations

• Tuberculosis

• Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Monday and Wednesday)

• Colposcopy every three months (free)

• In addition, the CCHD provides anonymous or confidential Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) testing and counseling.

The Union County Health Department is interested in professional volunteers. Please contact Jeffrey Rubin, M.D. at PO Box 328, 495 East Main Street, Lake Butler, FL 32054-1731. He can also be reached by telephone at (904) 496-3211.

The Alachua County Medical Society Inc.’s We Care Physician Referral Network accepts specialty referrals from Union County on a case-by-case basis. A participating physician can only generate referrals. Eligible patients are able to receive free specialty medical care and any necessary hospitalization services.

The American Cancer Society, in partnership with the Volunteer Services Program serves Union County with the "Early Diagnostic Initiative". This initiative provides free mammograms and/or sonograms, as well as follow-up medical treatment to indigent, uninsured women identifying a breast abnormality.