Metro Inclusive Health on Central Ave. (Photo courtesy Metro)
TAMPA BAY | Metro Inclusive Health has nearly completed the organization’s redistribution of operations into nine full-service locations, an expansion first detailed last year.
The plans were announced in April 2023 and billed as a return to Metro’s roots, designed “to meet demand while addressing increased barriers to healthcare in underserved communities.” The organization had partnered with CAN Community Health in the decade prior to renovate and share a 47,000-square-foot St. Petersburg facility and a 30,000-square-foot facility in Ybor, both of which CAN continues to operate from.
“Over the next 12 months, Metro will redistribute operations currently located at the St. Petersburg and Tampa centers [to] significantly expand the organization’s reach,” Metro shared at the time. “All will provide over 100 health, wellness and social services with labs and pharmacy services.”
“90% of patients receive more than one service at Metro,” Metro Inclusive Health CEO Priya Rajkumar added. “These moves will create substantial annual cost savings that can be redirected towards providing services to the community while also contributing to the financial longevity of the organization.”
Work on Metro’s expansion started right away and continued through the end of 2023. They began offering services at the organization’s renovated Central Ave. location in St. Petersburg that month, formerly their retail location Inclusivitea, and their Brandon site opened in July. A North St. Petersburg location followed in October and Tampa’s Seminole Heights and Fletcher Ave. sites opened in November.
Metro also vacated the Ybor location that month while operations have continued in Clearwater and New Port Richey. Downtown St. Pete opened and Metro vacated its traditional St. Petersburg location on Dec. 29, while their eighth site in South St. Petersburg is slated to open by Feb. 1. Learn more about the sites below:
“It’s been a lot of heavy lifting in getting centers online and patients transferred to their preferred location,” says Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer Brian Bailey, who initiated the shift toward Metro’s new model. “Overall, we’re ahead of schedule and patients are liking the accessibility of the new locations near them.”
Patients have also benefited from online scheduling, Bailey says, which has “seen strong adoption with little fanfare,” as well as their rebranded pharmacy services. Metro recently unveiled Metro Inclusive Pharmacy: Copay it Forward, a rebranding they say marks “a significant stride in the organization’s commitment to healthcare equity and community support.”
Metro’s Copay it Forward program initially launched in 2018 and utilizes normal pharmacy copayments to offer care to those who are under or uninsured. In 2022, insured patients who participated in the initiative contributed $660,450 toward services.
The pharmacy is located in Metro’s former LGBTQ+ Welcome Center beside their Central Ave. site. Patients who fill prescriptions there will offer greater assistance to those in need and enjoy discrete, complimentary delivery among other benefits.
“As Metro Inclusive Health expands into new locations and continues to enhance its community outreach, the organization encourages everyone to support and educate others about the benefits of choosing Copay it Forward and Metro Inclusive Pharmacy for their prescription needs,” Metro noted in a press release. They also shared they look “forward to making a greater impact in the lives of many through this rebranded initiative.”
The majority of Metro Inclusive Health’s new sites are now open across Tampa Bay. For more information about each or to schedule an appointment, visit MetroTampaBay.org.
