LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Fresh funding will keep Lee Specialty Clinic open for a year. However, staff say that the damage can't be undone.
This clinic for adults with disabilities now faces a new challenge: retention.
"Even though we got our funding, they absolutely hurt us," Hayli Potts, a patient care specialist at Lee Specialty Clinic, said. "We're not where we were. They absolutely pushed us back."
Potts said the past month has been a rollercoaster. Lee Specialty Clinic planned to downsize because of massive budget cuts.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Kentucky Cabinet Health and Family Services fund this clinic.
"There is of course a constant fear that it can all be taken away," said Amy Cutter, whose daughter frequents the clinic. "From the most vulnerable community who need these services desperately, it's so sad and absolutely terrifying for our community. It's absolutely unfair that we have to continue to think about this every day when we have so much to manage with our children constantly anyway."
Potts was devastated when she learned more than a thousand patients were going to lose this vital resource beginning July 15. Potts was notified she would lose her job.
"None of this had to happen," she said. "None of it had to happen. It's really frustrating because now we're running around trying to fix problems that we didn't initiate."
The state stepped in at the end of June. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced plans to move money from a $400 million fund for annex renovations set for 2029 to fund the clinic for a fiscal year.
The state confirms that's still the plan. That money will temporarily fund the clinic until July 2027.
"That’s not good enough to get the right people to provide services for our adult children," Cutter said. "It's not good enough for our children that deserve dignity and care and providers who can facilitate what they need."
"We can't hire really anyone until January," Potts said. "Because we can't offer any job security longer than a year."
Potts said the damage can't be erased.
"We lost our gynecologist," she said. "We lost our audiologist, and we already have a two-year wait list."
Some patients and providers did not come back after getting letters about the downsizing. She said its been tough finding replacements, especially for dentistry.
"And we can't do the NYU program that we were doing right now because that's a two-year contract, and we cannot guarantee them two years," Potts said.
The Kentucky General Assembly will discuss further funding this clinic in January 2027. Until then, staff and parents said the fight will continue.
"As parents to these vulnerable children, we are fighters," Cutter said. "We have had to fight for everything for our children their entire life and we won't stop. It's all we know. This is not a political issue. This is a lifeline for families and the adult children involved."
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