Rural Medicine - Clinics - About Fellsmere

In 1910, a rich English engineer named E. Nelson Fells came to Florida and bought 116,000 acres of marsh land. He created the Fellsmere Farms Company and wanted to make Fellsmere the showplace of Florida's East Coast for the first few years, it was larger than Vero and very modem for its time. It had concrete streets, its own branch of the railroad, and it was home to the county's first newspaper. Mr. Fell began draining the land and selling it to farmers all over the country, after showing them the beautiful crops on his demonstration farms. But in July 1915 terrible rains began coming to the area, and on a single day, August 3, 1915, sixteen inches of rain fell. The drainage canals couldn't hold all that water, and the land was flooded. Cattle drowned, and crops were ruined. People fished in the streets, and the countryside was a lake as far as the eye could see. Mr. Fell gave up his dream and many people moved away." (Author unknown)

During those years before the flood, Fellsmere was a major sugar growing community. Today, Fellsmere relies heavily on citrus and cattle. One of the largest orange and grapefruit producers in the area is Sun Ag, Inc., located on Fellsmere Farms. It is the largest agricultural taxpayer in Indian River County. Other business owners utilize the balance of the land for cattle and vegetable production.

The current year-round population in Fellsmere is approximately 2,468 and is expected to grow to 2,641 by the year 2000. Because of the number of citrus growers in the area, the population in FeRsmere swells to well over 5,000 during the fruit-picking season (October to March) when the migrant farm workers descend on the area.

Fellsmere Community Health Coalition, Inc. (FCHC) was incorporated as a non-profit organization in October of 1993 and commenced operations as Fellsmere Medical Center (FMC) in August 1995. The medical center uses a traditional, rural, Community Health Center service model. The center provides year-round, comprehensive primary health care services. FMC provides services in all of the primary care areas, excluding obstetrical care. The center also provides urgent care when necessary due to the fact that the nearest hospital is twenty minutes away. The Indian River Public Health Unit transferred the responsibility for its primary care service delivery to FMC as of August 01, 1996. As a result, FMC is the sole provider of primary health care services in the community of Fellsmere. Fellsmere Medical Center's assumption of the sole responsibility for the delivery of crucial primary health care services for the entire community lowers barriers to primary health care services. Cost, transportation, and translation will not prevent our low-income and seasonal farm workers from receiving the care they need.

FMC primarily serves the communities of Fellsmere, Sebastian and Vero Lake Estates. The medical center has established a strong network of collaborative relationships with other community-based services and organizations. FMC has agreements with Indian River Memorial Hospital and Sebastian River Medical Center for the provision of inpatient care for the center's patients. These two hospitals have also agreed to provide backup after-hours service and emergency care for patients of FMC. FMC has a dispensary to assist its patients in accessing needed medications. The medical center's dispensary is critical to the residents because the nearest pharmacy to Fellsmere is eight miles away. Fellsmere Medical Center has been able to develop a formal contract with Redlands Christian Migrant Association (RCMA) for the provision of outreach, school physicals, primary care, immunizations for migrant and seasonal farm worker children. FMC also provides the health physicals for the staff of RCMA.