In 1986, Joanne Cochran, Keystones President and CEO, co-founded the center to provide health care to the migrant agricultural workers in Franklin County. At that time Keystone was comprised of three volunteers providing part-time seasonal health care to migrant agricultural workers in Franklin County and saw 500 patients during its first season.

Keystone Health is the only federally-qualified Community Health Center serving Franklin County. Community Health Centers are characterized by five essential elements that differentiate them from other providers:

The Board expands the mission to include providing care to all residents of the area, regardless of ability to pay. Rural Health Clinic status is obtained and the corporation name is changed to Keystone Rural Health Center. A full-time, year-round family practice known as Keystone Health Center opens at 1331 S. Seventh Street. The low-income and uninsured residents of Franklin County now have access to primary care and auxiliary services.

Keystones status is elevated to Federally Qualified Health Center for Medicare recipients and shortly thereafter for Medicaid recipients, which enables Keystone to receive cost reimbursement for patients receiving public insurances.

Mrs. Cochran obtains Medically Underserved Population status for the low income of Franklin County and Health Professional Shortage Area status for Franklin County, making Keystone eligible to hire National Health Service Corp doctors, highly qualified physicians who chose to work in areas where doctors are needed in exchange for help from the government in repaying their education loans.

Because the health center has outgrown the leased 1331 S. Seventh Street location, Keystone conducts a Capital Campaign to raise funds to build the 820 Fifth Avenue facility. The facility is completed in 1998.

When a local cardiology practice announces it will disband, Keystone opens the Franklin County Heart Center to ensure that cardiology services will be available in the community. Because this is a specialty practice and not part of the Federally Qualified Health Center, a wholly-owned subsidiary, Keystone Physician Services, is formed. The opening of the practice brings the first interventional cardiologists to Franklin County.

When Cumberland Valley Mental Health Services (CVMHS) closes, Keystone expands its behavioral health services by hiring additional therapists and two psychiatrists. Keystone also takes over the Crisis Intervention Program that was operated by CVMHS.

Administrative services are consolidated in one location, the newly built Summit-Keystone Pavilion. Several practices move into larger offices to accommodate the growing number of patients: Keystone Womens Care and Franklin County Heart Center move to offices in the Pavilion. Franklin County Pediatrics moves into the Summit Health Center.

Keystone Health receives three grants through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to increase staffing at Franklin County Pediatrics, expand the Keystone Behavioral Health and Keystone Dental Care facilities, and construct a new building.

The new building at 830 Fifth Avenue is completed. Keystone Internal Medicine, Keystone Womens Care, and Keystone Pediatrics are relocated to the new building. Construction of the new facility was funded by an ARRA grant.

The year began with administration requesting that the mission statement be revised to more accurately reflect Keystones role in the community. The mission statement was revised to the following: Keystone Health improves the health and quality of life of the people and communities we serve.

USG (United Solutions Group) and Keystone signed a two year contract. Effective in June 2012, USG became Keystones contracted IT department and service. Keystone will no longer have its own IT operated department.

In July of 2012, Franklin County was included in the list of counties in the Commonwealth that are in mandated managed care for all primary care services. Previously only behavioral health services in Franklin County were in mandated managed care. This will cause a shift of patients into newly designated managed care health management organizations.

In early 2013, Keystone hired a consultant to begin the process of transitioning to the Patient Centered Medical Home delivery model of care. This model provides a way of organizing primary care that emphasizes care coordination to transform primary care into what patients want it to be. Medical homes can lead to higher quality and lower costs, and can improve patients and providers experience of care.

In July, Keystone is notified that is the recipient of an Outreach and Enrollment grant from Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, and another for Outreach and Enrollment from HRSA. Keystone used these dollars to hire 11 Navigators to educate and enroll eligible individuals in Franklin County into Medicaid, CHIP and the State Marketplace Insurance plans. Keystone then went on to open Outreach and Enrollment sites in Greencastle, Chambersburg and Waynesboro.

Dr. Michael Colli (Pediatrician and medical director of Keystone Pediatrics) was appointed to the position of Chief Medical Officer of Keystone Health effective July 1, 2014, and Dr. Kawish Garg was appointed to the position of medical director of Keystone Behavioral Medicine.

In October, Keystone was contacted by Family Health Council of Southcentral Pa to determine interest in offering Family Planning Services. In previous years, Keystone had contracted to provide these services. With Family Planning of Chambersburg closing its doors, there was no access to family planning services in Franklin County. Keystone agreed to provide family planning services to begin around the February 2015 timeframe, and will be held in conjunction with the STD program clinics.

In March, Keystonebegan working with Edlantis, an occupational and speech therapy service program located at the School for Veterans Children in Scotland, and in May, Keystone took over this program under the name of Keystone Pediatric Therapies. Also in March, Keystone received a HRSA S-BIRT (Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral and Treatment) grant and began screening its patients for drug and alcohol usage.

In the summer of 2016, Keystone developed a STD, HIV/AIDS, Healthy Woman, Outreach and Enrollment site located at 455 Lincoln Way East, and Keystone underwent is triennial Joint Commission survey and the outcome was that Keystone received accreditation from the Ambulatory Care Division.

In February, Keystone collaborated with Franklin County Head Start by placing a Head Start social worker to be placed within our Keystone Womens Care office in order to register pregnant mothers into the Head Start program for the many advantages of early childhood intervention through Head Start programming. The program allows for mothers to begin participating in beneficial programs earlier, thus allowing them to reap more benefits available to both the mother and child.

In early May, Keystone relocated its behavioral health program into a newly built facility at 110 Chambers Hill. Keystone celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony that same month with many community and state representatives present.

In July, Keystones Community Responder Program obtained national recognition for its work with police departments in diverting individuals from jail to treatment centers. Also in July, Keystone broke ground for a new health center to be built on the corner of Norland and Fifth Avenues in Chambersburg. The building will house Keystones administration department, Keystone Urgent Care (relocating from 830 Fifth Ave), Keystone Pediatric Therapies (relocating from Scotland Ave), Keystone Pediatric Dentistry, Keystone Community Outreach (HIV/STD program, Family Planning and Infectious Disease services.

Keystone received a grant from HRSA for Substance Abuse and Mental Health and part of the grant was slated for renovations at the Keystone Family Medicine practice, located at 820 Fifth Avenue. The renovation allowed for 12 additional exam rooms for primary care providers who will be providing Medication Assisted Treatment.

In October of 2019, Keystone opened its newest facility at 111 Chambers Hill Drive, in Chambersburg. The facility houses Keystone Urgent Care, Keystone Pediatric Developmental Center (formerly Keystone Pediatric Therapies and Keystone Audiology and Speech) Keystone Infectious Diseases, Keystone CommunityHealth Services (HIV/STD services and family planning) Keystone Pediatric Dental, and the Keystone Administration offices.

In late 2019, the Keystone board approved the purchase of three lots on a 4.21 acre property in Waynesboro. Keystone plans to use this for future expansion which may include family medicine, dental and behavioral health in the greater Waynesboro community.

In March, Keystone received its report related to clinical data which showed that Keystone had improved in immunization and cancer screenings, asthma, colorectal cancer, coronary artery disease and lipid therapy along with improvements in administering dental sealants.

In early April Keystone began screening all patients and employees. By mid-April, Keystone set up testing sites for our patients and community residents. Keystone worked to develop new ways of treating patients as well as many others from the community seeking testing.

Unfortunately, 2021 was a continuation of 2020 regarding COVID-19. However, there was one significant changewe now had a vaccine to combat the pandemic. Keystone began vaccinating healthcare workers in late 2020/early 2021.

In November, Keystone began providing a third doses (booster doses), as well as monoclonal antibody therapy for those infected by COVID. Keystone was the only provider of this IV therapy in Chambersburg.