Core Support Grants Aid With Planning and Direct Servicescover story continuedIn addition to being able to maintain an up-to-date financial picture, CHAP will have timely and direct billing communication with patients and capture additional revenue from third-party payers through more accurate service documentation. “All of these improvements contribute to our bottom line for operations next year and bring us much closer to the source of funds and our patients,” CHAP’s Martinez said. They also bring CHAP closer to eligibility for receiving federal grants, such as the revenue that comes with designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). “Core support funding is hard to come by,” CHAP’s Martinez said. “We’re so appreciative of this funding source, where we don’t have to worry about starting new programs but can concentrate on strengthening our current operations.” New Facilities
“We’re providing 72,000 patient visits a year, and the demand for services is growing faster than our capacity,” said Roberta Feinberg, MCCC chief executive officer, who has been with the clinic for 16 years. A special challenge is the wide ethnic diversity in the area. MCCC has translators in nine languages to provide assistance to patients from countries including Somalia, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Laos. Recently, MCCC completed the legalities of merging with Linda Vista Health Care Center to form San Diego Family Care, which enables the larger agency to apply for funding as an FQHC. A new 6,200-squarefoot pediatric clinic opened last October, staffed by a newly hired pediatrician. “Before we opened our new clinic to relieve pressure, patients often had a six-week waiting period to get well-child care,” Feinberg said. “We’re seeing thousands more patients now, and through some creative collaborations, are providing much better access to care.” San Diego’s Children’s Hospital and Health Center (CHHC) shares the new clinic, providing after-hours urgent care. CHHC has also opened a full-service radiology unit, and another clinic is renting dental space. In addition, San Diego County performs Medi-Cal eligibility screening in the lobby. “It was very difficult for parents to get their children to Children’s Hospital, so we brought the hospital’s urgent care to the community,” Feinberg said. “Parents now have greatly increased access to health care services for their children, a one-stop shop for most basic health care needs.” “We’re so grateful. We could never have done it without core operating support to sustain us. It’s a dream come true to help us serve our community.”
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In San Diego, the Mid-City Community Clinic
(MCCC) is using a three-year, $120,000 core
operating grant to merge with another health care
center and open a new pediatric clinic. The two
clinics are the only primary care providers for more
than 160,000 low-income,
multiethnic residents in
central San Diego.
Summer 2004
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