Ascension St. Vincent’s Mobile Health Outreach Ministry
Fiscal Year 2021 Report July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021
Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation | 1
Making an impact First and foremost, all of us at Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation want to thank you for supporting our Mission of serving all persons, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension St. Vincent’s Mobile Health Outreach Ministry is 100% funded by the generosity of donors like YOU! This year, 69 donors provided $438,822 to our Mobile Health Outreach Ministry. Ascension St. Vincent’s Mobile Health Outreach Ministry is the only mobile provider of free acute and preventive medical care for seniors, adults, and children in Northeast Florida. Our fleet of 5 fully-equipped doctor’s offices on wheels travels across 5 counties in Northeastern Florida providing award-winning service which improves the health of underserved residents in our community who would otherwise have no access to healthcare. This ministry provides thousands of our neighbors with quality, compassionate medical care, preventative health education, and medication and chronic disease management.
Outreach ministries Rural outreach ministry
Urban outreach ministry
Dental outreach ministry
Serves under-privileged families who work in agriculture in Putnam and St. Johns counties.
Serves homeless, uninsured patients and their families in Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties.
Serves underinsured families across all 5 counties.
Pediatric outreach ministry
Senior outreach ministry
Serves students in 23 Duval County full-service schools, catholic schools, and independent charter schools.
Provides medical care and wellness education to seniors residing in 3 HUD housing apartment complexes.
Community partners
Services
Essentials
We Care Jacksonville Inc.
Primary healthcare
Medications
Local health departments
School & sports physicals
Food
Social service agencies
Immunizations
Clothing
Schools
Dental care
Shoes & socks
Youth organizations
Glucose monitoring
Toys
Churches
Blood pressure checks
Books
Community centers
Hearing screenings
Backpacks
Apartment complexes
Diagnosis & treatment
Medical equipment
Local businesses
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Follow-up care
Medical supplies
Specialty referrals
Hygiene supplies
Health education
Prayers
Our Covid-19 response
Our Mobile Health Outreach Ministry has been working tirelessly alongside our Ascension St. Vincent’s hospitals to support our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the dedication of our associates and flexible nature of mobile health, this Ministry has gone above and beyond in providing quality, compassionate care to the patients we are so blessed to serve. Our team demonstrated innovation, collaboration, and compassion for our patients, community, and each other despite these challenging times. In response to the public health crisis our team of associates and clinicians pivoted to join Ascension Medical Group in providing drive-through COVID-19 testing at our Southside Hospital and additional testing at nursing homes and urgent care centers in our community. During the most recent surge of COVID-19 cases in Jacksonville, the mobile units were deployed to provide critical support to our Clay and Southside St. Vincent’s Emergency Departments. For six weeks, our mobile clinics were stationed outside the emergency departments screening 548 patients for COVID-19. Their support relieved pressure on our emergency departments, which allowed our clinicians to focus on patients with critical needs. Although the pandemic temporarily limited clinic days during July and August 2020, our determined mobile health team got creative by designing a plan to safely prepare and distribute medications to patients by mail or delivery. Partnering with Ascension Pharmacy, they filled and delivered life-sustaining medications to patients all over northeast Florida. Responding to an ever-evolving healthcare landscape, our team introduced virtual appointments for patients. Via video chat, clinicians met with patients to continue care. Our team developed a system to maintain a sterile environment on the unit by modifying workflows, installing air scrubbers, and fogging units for sanitation. In September 2021, our units went back out in the community full-time to provide our most vulnerable neighbors with access to compassionate, quality care.
Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation | 3
Impact FY21
$1,901,214
$4,351,575
62
4:1
Overall costs saved through preventative services
Cost savings from emergency room visits avoided.
Quality adjusted life years added
Return on Investment
2,000
$2.84
Provided in care for every dollar you donate
Emergency department visits avoided
$6,252,789 Total cost savings
Service highlights
548
134
Patients tested for COVID during the latest surge
school and sports physicals
1,542 3,765 Blood pressures taken
Cholesterol tests given
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166 2,008 1,284 COVID-19 vaccines provided
Dental services
Glucose tests given
166
1,654
912
Immunizations
Medications given Necesarry medical (valued at $209,478) equipment given
Patient demographics
Gender
Age
Race/ethnicity
Special populations
5,469 Total
4,258 Pediatrics
2,703 White
1,277 Uninsured
2,788 Female
981
Adults
1,449 African American
237
Homeless
2,681 Male
230
Seniors
677
Hispanic
8
Veterans
228
Asian
412
Other
Geographic area: 490 clinics
Our service area Northeast Florida counties
Total value of care from our clinics = $1,798,146 Nassau
41 clinics 118 patients
Clay 28 clinics 147 patients St. John’s 15 clinics 355 patients Putnam 35 clinics 353 patients Duval 371 clinics 4,496 patients Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation | 5
Patient stories
Connection to lifesaving care Linda* arrived at the mobile unit for a primary care visit. Following her visit, we referred her to WeCare Jacksonville (one of our community partners dedicated to improving access to specialty health care for low-income and uninsured patients) for her first baseline screening mammogram. Unfortunately, this mammogram showed a concerning mass. We made additional referrals to WeCare for diagnostic mammogram, biopsy, lumpectomy, and oncology for radiation treatment. Our Mobile Health Outreach Ministry was the first connection to treatment before it was too late. Had she not attended her mobile health appointment, she may have had a very different outcome. Coincidently, her surgery was performed at our Riverside Campus by volunteer physicians via WeCare. Our collaboration with community partners makes life-saving treatment accessible to those without insurance and results in positive patient outcomes.
Her song continues In May 2021, 23-year-old woman Jessica* was referred to our Clay County mobile clinic by her counselor at Her Song, a local ministry dedicated to interrupting the cycle of human trafficking. She had no insurance and required assistance managing her Type I diabetes, asthma, reflux, and an acute tooth infection. Following recent discharge from a recovery program, she was only given a 30-day supply of medications, without a refill. At her first visit, Jessica was seen by our physician, who provided extensive education on medication management for diabetes. Changes were made to her medication regimen to manage her blood glucose more effectively. She received insulin, a glucometer, test strips, lancets, lancet pen, glucose tablets and insulin syringes. Jessica also received a rescue inhaler, a maintenance inhaler, multi-vitamins, medication for reflux and antibiotics for the tooth infection. Thanks to our Mobile Health Outreach Ministry, we were able to provide her with much-needed medical care.
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Avoiding emergency care Henry* is 64 y/o man living in an Independent Living Facility for Seniors with qualifying low income. He lost his disability insurance coverage and could not afford the cost of insurance premiums. Additionally, he was ineligible for Medicare. Henry has lung disease and asthma, which means he often requires ER visits for nebulization. In addition, he suffers from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and reflux. Henry came to our mobile health clinic with an emergency asthma flare up. Our clinicians immediately triaged him and learned his lungs were clear and there was no respiratory distress or signs of acute exacerbation. As a result, we were able to treat him on the unit, obtain a detailed health history and perform a physical exam. He received necessary medical equipment (a nebulizer machine and tubing) and medication. Henry was able to restart his medication regime and avoid a possible ER visit thanks to our Mobile Health Outreach Ministry.
A brighter future Nadine* is a 36-year-old married mother of three who takes care of her children while her husband works as a taxi driver. Originally from Africa, Nadine and her family traveled to the U.S. after their daughter was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis. Uninsured and in need of dental care, Nadine was introduced to the Mobile Health Outreach Ministry through our “Love in Action” event. She was suffering from severe tooth pain. Dr. J. Craig, our volunteer dentist, performed an extraction and scheduled her for a comprehensive exam, full mouth set of x-rays, and cleaning. She told the staff ”God has always provided when her family has needed it the most.” Nadine was in tears expressing how thankful and blessed she was for what St. Vincent’s Mobile Health has done for her family.
Coaching makes all the difference “Wow, I never knew.” Three Spanish-speaking grandmothers/widows attended our health coaching and education event in June 2021 at an independent-living HUD Housing Apartment. All three ladies reported having high blood pressure and taking prescription medications to treat the symptoms. The women learned to identify the signs and symptoms of a heart attack versus a stroke and what to ask another person in a heart attack or stroke situation. They were pleased with the coaching and happy to receive such important education. The group showed our team that it is never too late to learn something new.
Going the extra mile In May 2021, we received a call from Susan*, a mother of a Stilwell student. Her daughter needed an inhaler and an Epi-pen to carry at school. At the appointment, the child was seen by our nurse practitioner, Roxanna, who ordered the medications. Upon the arrival of the medication, we contacted Susan. She told our team that she would not be able to come pick-up the medications during the week because she also works in healthcare. Our associates arranged to deliver both medications to Susan at work to save her a trip. She was most appreciative of this extra effort.
Na* mes and photos changed of r priav cy. Ascension St. Vincent’s Foundation | 7
Thanks to our donors who make these stories possible Thousands of adults, seniors, and children have come to rely on the Ascension St. Vincent’s Mobile Health Outreach Ministry. This program is here because of YOU, our donors. Whether you attend one of our fundraising events, give through payroll as an associate, contribute to an endowment as a physician, award us a grant, give an annual gift, or give a major gift, each of you have made an investment in improving the health of Northeast Florida. Thank you for your dedication to our Mission. Together, we are working to provide quality, compassionate care to all.
Visit us on the web: GiveStVincents.org Like and follow us: @GiveStVincents
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Contact us: 904-308-7306 TheFoundation@ascension.org