For Immediate Release
July 28, 2005

North Carolina Association of Free Clinics Contact:
John Mills, CAE, Executive Director, (336) 251-1111

BCBSNC Contact:
Mark Stinneford, (919) 765-3745

BCBSNC Foundation Continues its Commitment to Support and Expand Free Health Clinic Access Across North Carolina

Chapel Hill, NC – Grants from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation (BCBSNC Foundation) will help North Carolina's free clinics implement disease management programs, provide affordable prescription drugs, target services to seniors and immigrants, and take other steps to strengthen and expand services to uninsured and underinsured residents of the state.

The BCBSNC Foundation is making the latest round of grants through the N.C. Association of Free Clinics (NCAFC) as part of a partnership between the organizations to strengthen the free health clinic network across the state. The funding includes both general grants to the clinics and money linked to specific needs, including technology, program expansion, Hispanic services, chronic disease services, or for programs needing emergency funding.

One award recipient, Charlotte Community Health Clinic (CCHC) received a total of $30,000, of which $15,000 will be used to provide a bilingual (Hispanic) front office coordinator. This individual schedules patient appointments, provides data entry in demographics, value of services, chronic disease management and translates/interprets information for patient care and education.

For the Charlotte-based clinic, an increase in the number of patients coming from the Hispanic community has highlighted the need to increase the efficiency of its programs. "Our resources are limited, therefore we must be as cost effective as possible with each dollar received. The way to do this is to become even more efficient in our operations," said CCHC Executive Director Nancy Hudson. "We believe that money allocated for key positions such as our front office bilingual coordinator enables us to meet the ever increasing needs of our community." Approximately 50 percent of CCHC's new patients are from the Hispanic community.

For another North Carolina free clinic, continuity of care was of primary concern. Helping Hands Clinic, Inc. (HHC) of Lenoir has received $45,000 and will use $30,000 to further support its Caldwell Health Access Program. This program serves the uninsured by assigning one primary care physician to each patient for chronic disease management, increasing access to acute care, and by providing access to prescription medications.

Service improvements at HHC were based on results of a survey of clients, whose top suggestions included an increase in hours of operation, shorter wait times for medication and the ability to see the same doctor at every visit. "Not only did we listen to them, but we also took steps to implement these requests," said Lou Hill, executive director of the Lenoir clinic. "We have increased our clinic hours from two to three days a week and wait times for medication have decreased from 12 weeks to less than one week. Continuity of care, we believe, increases the quality of care to our patients." The number of expected chronic disease patients to be seen in the first year is approximately 200. The clinic plans to increase acute care visits by 50 percent.

"Many of North Carolina's free clinics fight an uphill battle: ever-increasing needs versus inconsistent funding and resources. Thanks to the five-year funding commitment from the BCBSNC Foundation, clinics are able to support and expand existing services, upgrade and maintain vital clinic systems, and invest in their future," said John Mills, CAE, executive director of the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics. "These clinics will be able to, as the past has clearly shown, stretch these dollars and double, triple, and even quadruple the net effect and the net impact to their local community."

"It has been gratifying to witness the dedication and resourcefulness of physicians, community leaders and other volunteers as they have united to meet the specific health needs in their communities through their free clinics," said Bob Greczyn, president of the BCBSNC Foundation. "With these grants, we're pleased to support the free clinics in assuring that care reaches those who would not otherwise be able to afford it."

Additional grant recipients are:

• ABCCM Medical Ministry, Asheville—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be utilized to sustain a full-time pharmacist in order to meet the following challenges: 1) fill in the gap for emergency room referrals at the hospital; 2) fill the gap for the emergency assistance providers of working families; 3) assist mental health providers with prescription medications; and 4) continue to expand the clinic's capacity to receive unused medications from long-term care pharmacies.
• The Watauga County Hunger Coalition, Boone—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be used to continue the expansion and improvement of its pharmacy services. The clinic plans to have monthly blood pressure checks, seasonal flu shot clinics, and to develop educational materials for its current and future patient base.
• Open Door of Alamance County, Burlington—awarded $30,000, of which $15,000 will assist in providing a part-time patient advocate position whose role will be to screen potential patients, to aid patients with a variety of pharmaceutical companies' low-income drug program applications, review their current drug regimen, as well as track patients receiving medications and order refills when necessary. Because of the expected increase in efficiency, the clinic will stand to save potentially thousands of dollars in patient prescription medication.
• MedAssist of Mecklenburg, Charlotte—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be used to transition the clinic into a community pharmacy. The clinic currently serves approximately 1,500 clients per month and expects to increase this by 1,000 once this transition occurs.
• Community Care Clinic, Elizabeth City—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be used to increase its staffing capabilities in order to keep up with the demand in requested services. The clinic will provide a full-time case manager as well as a pharmacy assistant to ensure the same level of quality care to its patients.
• WATCH Mobile Unit, Goldsboro—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be used to improve and expand its diabetes program. Approximately 18 percent of the clinic's patients have diabetes. This expansion will enable the clinic to increase the number of diabetes patients by 100 percent.
• Caring Community Clinic, Jacksonville—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be used to hire a part-time pharmacy technician to run the clinic's Prescription Assistance Program, thus providing more one-on-one contact with patients with a focus on medication education and instruction. The clinic anticipates this program will result in increased healthy lifestyles for its patients and decreased use of other health care resources, such as hospital emergency rooms, and that patients will be able to return to work earlier.
• Davidson Medical Ministries Clinic, Inc., Lexington—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be expended to continue its Hispanic program, which coordinates the clinic's volunteers, patient care, translation and ESL services, and works as the clinic's liaison with other Hispanic services in the area. A portion of the award will continue to fund the clinic's technology upgrades from the previous year.
• Mooresville South Iredell Health Assistance Clinic, Mooresville—awarded $21,350, of which $6,350 will be utilized for technology updates to its pharmacy by introducing automation to several key areas: filling prescriptions, maintaining the formulary/inventory, printing patient instructions and packaging labels, and by maintaining current information on pharmaceuticals via the Internet.
• Broad Street Clinic Foundation, Morehead City—awarded $40,000, of which $25,000 will enable the clinic to develop a pilot Prescription Assistance Program (PAP) that will aid eligible patients in enrolling in PAP to receive their medications. The Broad Street Clinic estimates serving between 130-150 non-clinic patients upon the final development of the program.
• Good Samaritan Clinic, Inc., Morganton—awarded $45,000, of which $30,000 will be used to overhaul the clinic's technology capabilities. Upgrades will include a new server, software for the clinic's pharmacy to better track patient data and improvements to its communication systems.
• The Free Clinic of Reidsville & Vicinity, Inc., Reidsville—awarded $45,000, of which $30,000 will be utilized for technology enhancements that will move the clinic from a paper/pencil tracking system to more sophisticated donor, volunteer and patient tracking databases. The decrease in the amount of paperwork will enable clinic staff to provide more one-on-one time with patients and may even allow for future expansion in its service area.
• Rockingham County Prescription Assistance Program, Reidsville—awarded $45,000, of which $30,000 will be used to increase its wellness education program for seniors, targeting those with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This program focuses heavily on nutrition and seeks to promote weight loss, lower cholesterol values, lower blood pressure and decreased hospitalizations.
• The Community Care Clinic of Rowan County, Salisbury—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will be used to establish an outreach program aimed at more fully engaging its Hispanic community. The purpose of this initiative is to promote and educate individuals on prevention and healthy lifestyles, while also directing them to available medical, dental and pharmaceutical services.
• Good Shepherd's Clinic, Salisbury—awarded $25,357, of which $10,357 will be used to upgrade computer and networking capabilities and to purchase a patient-tracking system specifically designed for free medical clinics. These updates will greatly reduce the time spent recording patient data and completing and submitting patient assistance forms in applying for medications. This software will also aid in the clinic's ability to generate reports crucial in securing additional funding.
• Community Care Center, Winston-Salem—awarded $35,000, of which $20,000 will enable the clinic to increase its hours of operation by opening another evening clinic. The clinic projects that the increased hours will allow them to have an additional 2,500 patient visits or roughly 50 patients per clinic. The estimated value of the medical services delivered during the first year of operations will be approximately $350,000.

Unrestricted Awards ($15,000):

• Community Care Clinic, Albemarle
• HOPE Clinic, Bayboro
• Community Free Clinic, Concord
• Surry Medical Ministries Clinic, Mount Airy
• HealthQuest of Union County, Monroe
• Raleigh Rescue Mission Clinic, Raleigh
• Helping Hand Clinic, Sanford
• Senior Care Pharmacy, Spindale
• Good Samaritan Clinic of Jackson County, Sylva

Free health clinics are private, nonprofit, community-based organizations that provide medical care at little or no charge to low-income, uninsured and underinsured North Carolinians through the use of volunteer health care professionals and partnerships with other health providers. North Carolina has more than 63 free clinics, which is more free medical clinics than any state in the country. There are approximately 600 free clinics nationwide.