Lexington, KY – A troubled plan to build a public health clinic on Southland Drive will be the focus of an investigation by State Auditor Adam Edelen upon request from Mayor Jim Gray.
HealthFirst, a nonprofit primary care clinic that is largely supported by tax dollars, had planned to build on Southland Drive and purchased a $250,000 property for the project. The plan has recently come into doubt as the clinic announced last month that it might abandon the project because it doesn’t have enough money to operate the facility.
“My office will conduct a limited review of the Southland Drive project to try to determine what went wrong in an effort to expand health services to low-income Lexingtonians,” Edelen said in a statement released by his office. “Questions about how a quarter of a million dollars were spent need to be answered."
Lexington does not have direct control over HealthFirst, but Edelen stated it was within the purview of the Mayor to ask for a review from the Auditor’s Office.
In a statement Gray said: “A new health clinic is at stake here. Federal dollars are funding the project, and it is important they are spent properly. Regrettably, concerns have been raised and they must be addressed.”
Edelen said his auditors will focus solely on the project and the federal grant money that was spent to develop it.