Volume 2, Issue 1 Spring 2009

Community Health Centers Front and Center

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The HealthCare Connection (THCC) was just awarded $310,315 in grant funds from The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA ), signed into law February 17, 2009. This federal legislation provides $500 million in grants to support new service sites and areas, in-crease services at existing sites, and provide supple-mental payments for spikes in uninsured popula-tions to community health centers that receive operating grants under section 330 of the Public Health Services (PHS) Act.

There was a great deal of excitement at centers across the nation in March, as administrator Dr. Mary Wakefield and others from the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) led a conference call with information on the first wave of funding .Dr. Wakefield explained, “These funds will help serve millions more patients and create thou-sands of new jobs, doubling the number of clinicians in just a few years.”

Funds made available by the Recovery Act will support our nation’s health centers like THCC, in efforts to address the Increased Demand for Services (IDS) and to create or retain jobs in underserved communities over the next two years. This $310,315 in IDS funding awarded to THCC,

the only safety net provider in Hamilton County outside Cincinnati city limits, will be used to expand medical and dental services and service capacity and reduce waiting times for appointments in all of our seven service sites. That expansion will include increased hours of operation: evenings, early morn-ings, and Saturdays. It will also provide for hiring providers (physicians and nurse practitioners) and other support staff such as nurses and medical assistants.

The Recovery Act was enacted in order to:

preserve and create jobs, helping promote eco-•nomic recovery,

help people most affected by the recession,•

increase economic efficiency by investing in tech-•nological advances in science/health,

promote long-term economic benefits by invest-•ing in transportation, environmental, protection and infrastructure, and

preserve essential services in state and local •government

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We invite our many friends and supporters in the community to join us on Saturday, May 16th, as The HealthCare Connection again joins with the Hamilton County Park District to host the 4th annual Walk to Wellness- Spring Into Health 2009 event. We’re planning for another beautiful, spring morning at Glenwood Gardens on Springfield Pike, one of the park system’s loveliest parks. We welcome and thank Presenting Sponsors Hospice of Cincinnati and TriHealth, as well as our Walking Sponsor Fleet Feet.

Local personality Jack Atherton, affiliated with WLW-TV beginning in October, 2009, will return as our Honorary Chair. We are also delighted

Walk to Wellness is Four Years Old on May 16!

Lincoln Ware, Parky, Dolores J. Lindsay and Jack Atherton at the 2008 Walk to Wellness

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NOTABLE

NEWFor her “outstanding contribution to nursing in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky,” Susan Rivers Payne, board certi-fied Adult Nurse Practitioner at our Consumer Wellness site in Walnut Hills, was awarded The Nursing Excellence Award–Clinical Practice by Interact for Change on April 2nd. Our Consumer Wellness Program, with funding sup-port from The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati, provides primary care services to patients with severe mental health issues, at centers man-aged by the major mental health provid-ers in the area. She was nominated by Janice Bogner, Senior Program Officer,

Page 2to welcome back Lincoln Ware of WDBZ- The BUZZ as our “Walkmaster”, along with his walking group, The Lincoln Ware Walking Club.

We’re anticipating nearly 20 vendors as part of the health fair that takes place between 8:45 AM and 12:00 noon, with the 5K walk starting at 10:00 AM. Walkers will return to refreshments provided by long-time sponsor McDonalds, with Ronald McDonald himself passing out a few of those treats!

One new change this year, to further support our services to the growing numbers of uninsured, is that walkers can get pledges to help increase what they contribute to the walk. Get creative – how about $5-$10 each from four or five friends? What about $5 for each mile you walk? We’ll also have standard registrations available – on our website as well as through the mail.

Contact Megan Wright in the Development Office (513-483-3082 or meganwr@healthcare-connection.org) to request a brochure or register on-line at www.healthcare-connection.org.

Walk to Wellness (continued)

New and Notable

Severe Mental Illness, at The Health Foundation and Jeff O’Neill, Greater Cincinnati Behavioral Health Services (GCBHS). Ms. Bogner stated, “Susan is so sensitive to the particular needs of this patient population and is committed to quality care for the over 700 people she sees. Serving the primary care needs of those with se-vere mental illness can be a challenge, yet this special nurse’s commitment has not wavered.” In accepting her award, Ms. Rivers Payne commented, “You’ve heard that it can take a whole village to raise a child, but it really takes an entire nation to take care of our men-tal health patients.”

Joanne Dwyer was recently named the new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at THCC, and joined the staff in late March. She comes to the organization from Grand Rapids, MI, where she served as Vice President of Accounting and Finance at Hope Network, an organization with an $85 million annual budget. Ms. Dwyer comes with over 20 years experience in accounting, treasury management, information technology, and systems implementation. We welcome Joanne and look forward to introducing her to both THCC and Greater Cincinnati area!

What an exciting time to be in our nation’s capitol, as THCC board mem-bers Linda Childs Jeter, Charlotte Powell and Charles Woode joined CEO Dolores J. Lindsay in at-tending the National Association of Community Health Center’s (NACHC) Policy and Issues Forum during the week of March 23rd. The conference kicked off with a visit to Capitol Hill to showcase the release of the new NACHC report which examines the role of health centers in broader reform. According to confer-ence attendee Linda Childs Jeter, “Health centers are needed now more than ever to address the current health concerns facing Americans. It’s necessary for all of us to become grassroots advocates to ensure that we have adequate funding to keep our center’s doors open.”

Susan Rivers Payne (center) celebrates with other CNP’s from THCC, Christine Collela (left) and Debra Johnsen.

New CFO Joanne Dwyer

Board members Linda Child Jeter and Charlotte Powell (left) join Representative Steve Driehaus and Dolores J. Lindsay (middle) along with Charles Woode (back, right)

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Want to spend an evening sipping cocktails for a cause? Interested in planning a Happy Hour for Change to pro-mote The HealthCare Connection and to connect with like-minded young professionals? Our newly formed group, YP’s for HealthCare, has begun discussing activities such as these to increase the visibility of The HealthCare Connection in Greater Cincinnati and its community of the next generation of corporate and community leaders.

Founding members of the group include THCC board members O’Shea Gamble and Matt Turner, as well as Theresa Alexander, Josie Bethel, LaVelle Betts, Patti Bonner, Vicky Minnich and Marie Turner. The focus of this new volunteer group will include:

increasing our visibility and support with new pro-•fessionals who will be tomorrow’s leaders in the community

utilizing their expertise and education to help keep •the organization current, especially in the area of technology

coordinating events and educational opportunities •that will appeal to the growing numbers of YP’s

helping recruit other young professionals to volunteer •roles in the organization

The energy of the group members became evident at the first meeting as plans and ideas for several activities were discussed. This new committee will be promoting the May 16th Walk to Wellness to friends and colleagues and is also looking into plans for a happy hour later this summer.

YP’s for HealthCare Welcome Rising ProfessionalsAdditionally, discussions have begun about THCC pro-viding mentoring opportunities for area high school and college students interested in careers in health care.

We have posted information about our YP group on CinWeekly’s HYPE (Harnessing Young Professional Energy) page as well as on Idealist.org, a nonprofit search engine. Currently, we have about 12 interested members and are looking to expand. Please contact Development Assistant Megan Wright (meganwr@healthcare-connection.org, 513-483-3082) if you are interested in getting involved or know a YP who would be a valuable addition to the group!

We’re delighted that Carole Rigaud and Merri Gaither Smith, event planners extraordinaire, have graciously agreed to co-chair our 2nd annual Fall Jazz Concert–set for October 17, 2009 in Procter and Gamble Hall at the Aronoff Center. The artist booking is nearly complete but not enough for an announcement quite yet! All we can say is that it’s truly a jazz legend – one that you won’t want to miss. For information on sponsorships, our popular pre-party or to join the Steering Committee, contact Sandy Haas, 513-483-3098 or sandyh@health-care-connection.org.

Jazz Returns to the Aronoff on October 17th!S a v e t h e D a te

Carole Rigaud and Merri Gaither Smith

“We are extremely excited about the opportunity to couple the IDS funds with local funds to create greater access and better services for our patients,” commented CEO Dolores J. Lindsay. “There are many challenges before us, especially now, during these difficult economic times, as there are simply more needs than resources.” Mrs. Lindsay continued, “We are poised and eager to meet these chal-lenges head on. THHC wants to extend our gratitude to both state and federal legislators who recognize the value of community health centers, described by some as a major part of the solution to health care reform. On behalf of the patients, board and staff of The HealthCare Connection, we applaud their efforts in enacting legisla-tion that helps us help the community. We are determined to persevere, strengthen and expand.”

Community Health Centers (continued)

The HealthCare Connection 1401 Steffen Avenue Cincinnati, Ohio 45215

Dolores J. Lindsay Chief Executive Officer

Sandy Haas Director of Development

Editor

Partners for Health is published quarterly.

The mission of The HealthCare Connection is to provide quality, culturally sensitive, and accessible primary health care services focusing on the medically underserved, underinsured, and uninsured residing in northern Hamilton County and surrounding areas.

www.healthcare-connection.org

...because everyone deserves quality health care.

Lincoln Heights Health Center1401 Steffen Ave.Cincinnati, Ohio 45215513.554.4100

Mt. Healthy Family Practice8146 Hamilton Ave.Cincinnati, Ohio 45231513.522.7500

Forest Park Health Center924 Waycross RoadCincinnati, Ohio 45240513.589.3014

Ohio Refugee Screening: Patients Double in Two YearsThe HealthCare Connection (THCC) is proud to be part of the State of Ohio initiative that assists refugees from around the globe, as they arrive in Greater Cincinnati and try to begin new lives in the US. In collaboration with resettlement agency Catholic Social Services, THCC is the medical designee in this area, supporting the work of the Ohio Refugee Health Screening Program. Our medical staff provides an initial medical examination, coordinates a number of screenings and provides follow-up visits as needed.

People served by the program are individuals and families from South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, relocated to the US after fleeing refugee camps and destroyed homes and cities. THCC was selected by the state because of the availability of medical inter-preters and bilingual staff. We currently have staff fluent in seven languages including French, Spanish, Fulani, Arabic, Filipino and two West African dialects.

Utilization of this service has more than doubled since its inception in 2006, going from 68 patients that year to 151 in 2008. The ages of patients have ranged from newborn to seniors as the range of services has varied as well. Our success stories are many, including an 8 year old from Bhutan who could not walk when he arrived in the U.S. He’s now a 10 year old – healthy, thriving and an A-student in a local school system.