Health conscious : Little-known free health-care center planning campaign to expand service
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2008
BROOKE McNEELY Northwest Arkansas Times John Moores, director of development for Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center, sits in his office at the health clinic on College Avenue in Fayetteville. Moores is spearheading an awareness and fundraising campaign to expand the clinic’s operating hours to five days a week.
John Moores recalls a question he asked at a recent Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce function.
He asked how many had ever heard of the Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center.
Five raised their hands. There were 30 people at the event.
As development director of the clinic, which at 10 S. College Ave. in Fayetteville and has been since the late 1980 s, Moores aims to increase that number.
His question is how do people donate money if they do not know it exists ?
"If they're not aware of us, then they have no way of even thinking about supporting us," Moores said.
He says creating awareness is part of the health center's goal to increase the number of people it serves.
To help in that effort, Moores, a former member of the health center's board, has been serving as the center's full-time development director since the beginning of the year.
The health center will have a rededication Oct. 22. It begins at 4: 30 p.m.
Center officials also plan to begin their first formal annual giving campaign next year - careful not to coincide with one of its funding arms, the United Way - to raise money to open the center on Mondays. It is open every other day of the work week.
"We need to be open five days a week," Moores said.
Moores emphasizes that the average cost of providing health care and medications to people at the clinic per visit - which does not take payments or insurance - is $ 36. 40. The goal is to serve 4, 000 more patients than the clinic is tracking for this year, about 11, 000.
The center served 9, 000 last year but is increasing because of expanded hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Moores said there is a bigger need because of the estimated 70, 000 uninsured people in Northwest Arkansas. He said there may be more people in need now because of the economy: people losing their jobs or health insurance.
The clinic is the only one in the area that provides free services, taking no payments except for donations, Moores said. The next closest one is in Fort Smith.
It is described by recently hired physician assistant Andi Green as a primary care clinic, mainly serving adults.
Hours at the clinic are now 8: 30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday and 8: 30 a.m. to 1: 30 p.m. Friday for medical clinics and 1 to 8 p.m. Thursday for medical and dental clinics, which include extractions and dental hygiene.
There is physical therapy every other week and diabetes education once a month. Gynecological clinics are conducted on an as-needed basis.
The eligibility criteria is having no health insurance, inability to pay for a doctor's office visit and level of income. Considering total family income and family size, a household cannot be more than 200 percent above the federal poverty level. For a single person, the monthly income of $ 1, 734 qualifies, if he or she is not covered by health insurance.
According to the U. S. Census Bureau's 2007 population survey, about 37 percent of Arkansans under the age of 65 are without health insurance - nearly double the 1999 / 2000 survey numbers.
About 79 percent, which represents four out of five individuals, who went without health insurance during last year were from working families; only 16. 5 percent were not in the labor force. Every racial and ethnic group experienced significant growth in the proportion of the nonelderly population that was uninsured.
Uninsured individuals generally postpone or go without basic medical and dental care, according to Moores, and they tend to wait until their illness progresses to a state from which it takes a long time to recover.
Most of the patients served at the Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center - about 65 percent - are women. A vast majority of patients seen are between the ages of 20 and 64.
A little more than half are from Fayetteville, while 20 percent are from Springdale, 13 percent from Benton County, and 10 percent from Prairie Grove, Elkins and West Fork. Six percent come from a variety of other locales.
Moores said about half of the patients seen at the center have diabetes.
"That drives a lot of other medical issues," he said.
Insulin is on hand at the center.
Although there are two other reduced fee clinics in the area, the Northwest Arkansas Free Health Center is the clinic of last resort for those who cannot pay for medical services an / or afford a prescription, according to Moores.
The clinic operates using volunteer physicians, dentists, pharmacists, technicians and lay volunteers - coordinated by a small paid staff. It has 47 medical professional volunteers and 30 lay volunteers (mostly premed, predental and prepharmacy students ).
Part of patient advocate Anna Mullis' job is to work with pharmaceutical companies to help procure some medications for patients who come to the center. She credits the companies for providing free or discount drugs for patients. In addition, local pharmacies in the area have $ 4 prescriptions for some medications.
Washington Regional Medical Center helps write off some lab work.
Much of what the center does involves maintaining health and prevention, and treating ongoing problems such as high blood pressure.
Serious medical problems are still referred to specialists, and low-income patients often cannot afford tests required to diagnose those illnesses.
The center is supported solely by private groups and individuals; Moores said about 70 percent of donations are from foundations or grants, while 30 percent comes from individuals.
Among the foundations that support the center are the Willard and Pat Walker Foundation and Wal-Mart Foundation.
Delta Dental provides dental equipment.
Moores said other corporations provide in-kind donations. For example, Tyson Foods has recently printed a brochure for the fundraising effort.
One of the goals is to get the percentage of individual to corporate donors more even because Moores said a strong base of individual donors is important to maintain the center long term.
Moores said one in three people has to be turned away due to lack of medical and dental services, a key reason, he added, to expand operating hours to include Mondays. He said those people often wait until they can be seen or go to the emergency room at the hospital.
A former administrator at Washington Regional Medical Center, Moores said the typical emergency room cost for a nonemergency is $ 500 to $ 600. So he says supporting the health center helps save money that has to be paid by someone, even if the patient cannot pay or does not have health insurance.
There are two full-time paid staff members at the center - Executive Director Monika Fischer-Massie and Moores - and four parttime clerical employees. Green works part time as the physician assistant. Her position is new this year. She coordinates, directs and provides patient care.
"When we're open, she's there most of the time," Moores said.
A voluntary board of directors governs the center. Anthony Murphy serves as its president. Dr. Roger Montgomery is the medical director. The treasurer is Mark Kidd. Other board members are Karolyn Farrell, Hector Cueva, Mike Green, Brad Lushbaugh, Marynm Bassett and Kerry Holloway.
The county leases the building to the city, which, in turn, leases it to the center for a nominal fee. The center pays for utilities and is responsibility for maintaining the building, unless there is a major repair required.
The annual operating budget is about $ 350, 000.
Jessie Bryant, who serves on the Washington County Quorum Court, founded the center in 1986 to provide no-cost health care services to the uninsured, indigent and working poor. It was originally based in St. James United Methodist Church.
It did not take long for people to hear about it.
"The need just exploded," Moores said.
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