SPEKTRUM Health opened its Melbourne facility last month. (Photo from SPEKTRUM Health – Melbourne’s Facebook)
ORLANDO | In 2019, SPEKTRUM Health opened its doors to the public as a primary healthcare option with “top-quality” options for LGBTQA+ individuals.
Joseph Knoll, the founder of SPEKTRUM and an openly gay Advanced Practice Registered Nurse for the facility, created the nonprofit organization with the mission to “empower individuals to achieve their peak mental and physical health goals” by “[engaging] with community organizations for meaningful and trusting relationship endeavors that will meet the needs of the LGBTQA+ community,” according to the organization’s mission statement.
The nonprofit, which operates thanks to private donations and grants, opened a new location on the Space Coast in Melbourne, Florida in May of this year. Since then, their patients — who have predominantly been attending with the use of online check-ups — now have a physical location closer to them where they can seek physical or mental health care in person.
“A lot of patients we have were either telehealth or were driving hours to Orlando. I don’t like the idea of someone driving an hour to be seen if they are sick,” Knoll says. “I’m excited to be in our new location and take the experience we provide in Orlando and bring it here.”
While COVID-19 affected the ability for health care organizations to provide many of their services in 2020, SPEKTRUM Health was able to continue its services thanks to its large portion of telehealth patients prior to the pandemic. Knoll says they didn’t have to close their facility once due to the virus.
Some of the services that SPEKTRUM Health provides include primary care, Sexually transmitted infections (STI) treatment and prevention, Med-Psych management, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for transgender patients, weight management and HIV treatment and prevention, including Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP).
Along with opening its new facilities in Melbourne, SPEKTRUM Health is also relocating its offices in Orange County. While still providing health care — both in-person and virtually — SPEKTRUM Health will move from its current location at 2100 N. Orange Ave., Suite A to 5205 S. Orange Ave., Suite 110 on July 1.
Since opening the new facility in Melbourne, Knoll has found that two of the most requested services at the new location from new patients have been STI testing and mental health care requests. Knoll added that opening the new location was important for this very reason. He wanted to increase accessibility to their telehealth patients as well as be available with much needed services for new patients in Brevard County.
“Someone said to me today that ‘I never thought we’d have something like this in Melbourne’ and that really warmed my heart,” Knoll says. “We really go the extra mile to explain things to our patients and we all believe strongly in our mission.”
The name SPEKTRUM comes from the idea that the health care they provide stands out, hence why they bold each letter in the name, and is for everyone no matter where you identify, according to Knoll.
“I’ve had some experiences with some other organizations in town and I thought I could create something better with my background,” Knoll says. “I always wanted to create a better health care option for the community that I was a part of.”
SPEKTRUM Health Melbourne is located at 1920 S. Babcock St., Melbourne 32901 and can be reached at 321-294-0400. SPEKTRUM Health Orlando will be located at 5205 S. Orange Ave., Suite 110 starting July 1 and can be reached at 407-454-1363. Both offices are open Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. For more information, visit SPEKTRUM.Health.
