Immediate Demand: Federal Dollars to Stimulate Community Health Care, Jobs

In a previous blog post, I wrote about how federal stimulus dollars will flow to community health centers.

Now, we have some more details. Through the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009, the US Department of Health and Human Services will soon distribute $337.9M to 1,128 community health centers in 50 states, Puerto Rico and other territories.

Named, Immediate Demand for Services (IDS) funds, these dollars are meant to assist health centers in providing primary health care services to a large number of people who have lost jobs and therefore their health care coverage. Currently 8.5% of workers are unemployed in the US. (Read more...)


With these dollars, health centers propose to serve 2.1 million new patients over the next 2 years. Half of the new patients will lack health insurance, and the majority of the other half will likely be dependent of state and federal programs such as Medicaid, which insures the lowest income Americans, including most low income children.

Nationally, community health centers serve almost 18 million individuals regardless of the ability to pay. IDS funds will promote an 11% increase in community health center enrollment over 2 years according to estimates.

Health centers provide economical health care services. The per patient federal outlay through these stimulus dollars is only $159.62. Health centers will likely look to other sources to meet the needs of supporting services to these patients on a long term basis.

Health centers also propose to create or retain 6,400 jobs in primary health care over the next 2 years: health care practitioners and support staff.

More about Illinois:  36 community health centers in Illinois will share $15M in Increased Demand for Services funds over 2 years.  An estimated 66,000 patients will be added in Illinois, a 6.6% growth rate over 2 years,  and 50% will be uninsured.  Approximately 270 jobs will be added or retained. Illinois community health centers currently serve 1 million statewide. 

The challenge for community health centers will be to sustain these new patients after the stimulus funds end in 2 years. (END OF POST.  Thank you for reading.)

If you see something, say something.

On a recent trip to Washington, DC, I could have caused an emergency response to a strange, unclaimed suitcase. With the national terrorism threat level elevated at YELLOW and the airport threat set even higher at ORANGE,  I'm sure the average citizen and security personnel alike are on the lookout for strange packages and unattended luggage.

While boarding the Metro at the National Airport stop last week, I inadvertently left my knapsack on the train platform, boarded he train with my suitcase, and headed into town.  By the next stop, ironically, the Pentagon stop, I noticed my error.  

Envisioning SWAT teams and bomb sniffing dogs surrounding my rucksack, heart in throat, I boarded the next train back to the airport.  For sure, the airport would be locked down, I'd be arrested and shipped off to Guantanamo Bay.  

Back on the platform, I spotted my laptop containing backpack; not a siren or black booted officer in sight.  I nonchalantly claimed my property.  National crisis averted.

If you see something, say something.

Of Hospitals and Safety-Nets

Crain’s Chicago Business recently pointed out in “Wealthy hospitals owe their heath to ‘safety nets’.” (Crain’s Feb 9) out that Chicago area hospitals cannot operate in isolation when it comes to serving the health care “safety net” population.

Hospitals and policy-makers cannot ignore the fact that the safety net health care system involves much more than acute care academic and community hospitals. The network of federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and other clinics such as the Cook County system and free clinics should be important partners. FQHCs provide comprehensive primary care to over 500,000 individuals in the Chicago metro area and to almost one million in Illinois regardless of the ability to pay. They keep ill patients out of the hospital emergency room and help to reduce costs in health care system. They manage a high burden of complex chronic maladies such as diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure.

Perhaps existing expanding hospitals should partner more with FQHCs and others so that emergency rooms are not the first point of care for so many safety net heath care patients.

Such is the case with several hospitals already, including Northwestern Memorial Hospital, which was mentioned in the Our View editorial. Northwestern works with two FQHCs on the North and North West Sides of Chicago to enhance diabetes care, improve mammogram screening rates, and to increase access to hospital-based diagnostic testing and inpatient admissions. Efforts have focused on attacking specific diseases and measuring the outcomes in a results-oriented approach.

There is no question that hospitals and government need to do more in partnership to address challenges of the heath care safety net. Strengthening partnerships with community-based health care providers is part of the solution.(End of post. Thank you for reading.)