By
Cody Cahill
The Adams County Health Center has tapped into federal stimulus package dollars
in order to increase their ability to accommodate patients with little or no
insurance coverage.
The $135,000
grant is part of a $500 million dollar federal push to
make community health centers more prepared to deal with
an anticipated increased demand for services, particularly
from uninsured, or underinsured, patients.
“We’re
going to use the money to sustain our charity-care program
and help provide for any,” said Health Center director
Denise Groves, who also said the money will essentially
fund an estimated two or three jobs for one year.
The Adams
County Health Center, by law, cannot turn away any patient
because of their inability to pay, so this grant money
will help fill the financial gaps caused by an influx of
uninsured patients.
This health
center was selected because they fit the criteria of being
located in an area with large unemployment and also an
area with an extremely high population of individuals and
families with no health insurance.
Groves
said the health center has seen an increasing number of
patients since it opened, with consistent growth each yaer.
Last year the center provided services for 325 more individuals
than they saw the year before. Many of these patients are
without adequate health care coverage, and with the area’s
economy continuing to stagnate and unemployment numbers
remaining at historically high rates, there is good reason
to believe the number of uninsured patients in need of
health care is likely to remain high, or even increase,
in the next year.
In what
would have to be described as a rare occurrence, Groves
said the time it took the feds to accept their application,
approve it and distribute the money was incredibly fast.
“We
submitted the application and two weeks later, we had the
money,” she said. “I’ve never seen a
federal grant turned around so quickly.”
More
stimulus $ to come?
The health center is waiting to hear back on an application they recently submitted
for a $355,000 capitol improvement program grant, also part of the federal
stimulus package.
The money
would be used on a number of building improvement projects
as well as other infrastructure upgrades. Among the issues
that would be addressed if the money comes through are
replacing the building’s roof structure, adding handicapped-accessible
entryways, and getting a tele-radiography system in place
that would allow for the digital transfer of x-rays.
Groves
is optimistic about the center’s chances of receiving
this grant and expects to hear back from the feds shortly.
Other
clinic closes
The recent closure of the Council Mountain Medical Clinic has led to an increase
in the number of patients seeking out the services of the Adams County Health
Center.
Groves
said that the center has received dozens of medical records
from patients that attended the recently closed clinic,
indicating that these patients will likely be looking towards
the health center for their medical care needs in the future.
Groves
said the staff is ready and fully prepared to take on the
increased patient load.
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