Description of the Project The Giles Free Clinic was founded in 2007 with support from a HRSA Office of Rural Health Policy Rural Health Outreach Grant. The founding of the clinic was a collaborative effort of the parent organization, the Free Clinic of the New River Valley and the local critical access hospital, Carilion Giles Community Hospital. The Giles Free Clinic has experienced almost a doubling of unduplicated patients served since its founding. The Clinic runs on a very limited budget with primarily volunteer manpower, and it cannot absorb the additional costs associated with the increased demand. The Clinic consistently turns away residents who are under-insured (cannot afford their deductibles) or slightly over-income. Operational hours are limited (four days per week), and the Clinic does not serve Medicaid or Medicare recipients. The Giles Free Clinic, given its limited resources and operations, is not an appropriate entity to serve as the health care safety net for a County that has tremendous need and significant access barriers. These factors as well as many of the proposed elements of the Affordable Care Act (Medicaid expansion; health insurance exchanges) were the impetus for the Giles Free Clinic to apply for a HRSA BPHC Health Center Planning Grant. Grant funds and resources allowed the Giles Free Clinic, along with key leaders in the Giles County community, an opportunity to explore the needs of the residents of Giles County while studying options to transform the Giles Free Clinic to a sustainable, 330-funded, federally qualified health center (FQHC). The goals and deliverables for the project included: 1) Conduct a comprehensive County-wide health needs assessment that identifies health disparities, barriers to treatment, and gaps in available resources; 2) Design an appropriate, Section 330 compliant, health care service delivery model based on the comprehensive needs assessment; 3) Secure financial, professional and technical assistance in the development of this service delivery model; 4) Increase community involvement in the planning, development and subsequent operations of a comprehensive FQHC; and 5) Continue to develop linkages and foster partnerships with health and social service providers in the community to ensure a continuum of services while avoiding duplication. A 12-month Work Plan and Project Timeline were used to evaluate whether the goals, objectives, and deliverables were addressed during the project period. (See Attachment 1: Work Plan and Timeline) The Giles County Health Center Planning Initiative focused on high levels of community engagement involving key leaders, stakeholders, and providers; the target population; and the community as a whole. A communication plan was developed to keep the community informed
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