About 29 million people in the U.S. rely on community health centers, which provide care to low-income and uninsured patients. And they are now under pressure to rapidly pivot to respond to the pandemic.
Like many community health centers, HealthPoint's model is built around bringing people into clinics for primary care. Now the organization is taking new precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus and keep staff safe.Like many community health centers, HealthPoint's model is built around bringing people into clinics for primary care. Now the organization is taking new precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus and keep staff safe.
HealthPoint's chief medical officer Dr. Judy Featherstone says most appointments are now done over the phone. Like many clinics in Washington, HealthPoint has set up outdoor testing sites, but the supply of kits and protective gear, or PPE, has so far limited how many patients they can actually test for COVID-19.As fewer patients come in for care, clinic leadership worry about their financial future. Clinics have switched to telephone-based appointments, but it took several weeks for Washington's Medicaid program to adjust how it pays for those visits.
The Washington Association for Community Health projects that the cutback in dental care could lead to a $250 million shortfall for the state's community health center system over the next nine months.Community clinics play an important role in serving patients who otherwise might have no place to go besides the ER.
Some community clinic leaders now worry about losing staff to suspected or actual coronavirus infection. She says some patients still don't appreciate the severity of the pandemic and become upset when they are sent to the outdoor testing site rather than into the clinic.
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