Cover Spotlight
A Community Comes Together to Avert a Health Care Crisis
Submitted by: Cherie N. Preg
T
he challenge of how to care for individuals with limited or no insurance who seek care through an overtaxed emergency department is one faced by communities across our nation. Business leaders; concerned citizens; hospital administrators; and Health Services Inc., a Central Alabama corporation and federally qualified health center (FQHC); have answered the challenge in a unique way. After over four years of consulting, planning, and hard work, the River Region Health Center will open its doors in January of 2012. Designed to provide healthcare services to more than 25,000 patients annually, the 50,000 square foot facility will become a permanent medical home for those seeking primary healthcare services, including: adult and geriatric medicine, pediatrics, adolescent care, OB/GYN, dental services, podiatry, psychiatry, and social services. On site ancillary services such as a pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray, and case management services provide a comprehensive approach for one-stop care. In addition, hours are extended through 10:00 p.m. for those who would otherwise seek primary care at the emergency department. How did the River Region Health Center become a reality? In April of 2007, a group of business leaders and concerned citizens came together to discuss the lack of access
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Healthy Horizons Magazine
to primary healthcare in the River Region. If left unchecked, they feared, area business growth could be harmed, area hospital emergency departments could suffer, and the general quality of life for all residents could deteriorate. This group included Judge William Gordon, chair of the River Region Healthcare Coordinating Council; Lynn Beshear, director of Envision 2020, a community planning think-tank; Don Henderson, president and CEO of Jackson Hospital; Russ Tyner, president and CEO of Baptist Health; and community leaders and elected officials. Having presided over a successful community health center earlier in his career, Don Henderson knew that partnerships between community health centers and emergency departments were vital in providing healthcare to all persons without regard to ability to pay, thus helping maintain healthy emergency departments. It was soon determined that Health Services Inc. was best positioned to expand and fill this critical role.
According to Bernell Mapp, CEO of Health Services Inc., “The timing could not have been better. We were already engaged in plans to build a new facility to accommodate growing demand for services and create an appropriate setting for providing quality care.” If funds were secured, Jackson Hospital agreed to provide three acres of land on Jackson Hospital’s campus for the new facility, the city and county of Montgomery would provide $1.5 million and $1 million respectively, and Envision 2020 would coordinate leadership dialogue and purchase consulting services. With this overwhelming support, Health Services Inc. competed for federal stimulus funds available for the construction of new facilities for community health centers. “As a result, Health Services Inc. received a federal grant award of $11.2 million to construct the new River Region Health Center, which will make a real difference in improving access to primary care services for everyone,” said Mr. Mapp. Montgomery was one of 88 communities across the nation awarded a federal grant to construct a major health center facility, and Montgomery’s award is believed to be the ninth highest grant award in the nation. The challenge of caring for individuals with limited or no insurance remains just that- a challenge. And yet, the citizens of the River Region of Alabama are beginning to see what can happen when a community comes together to provide for its citizens- a better quality of life for everyone.