WHITE BIRD CLINIC
Grant: $150,730 - Health Resources and Services Administration - Mar. 23, 2009
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Award Description: ARRA - Increased Demand for Services (IDS) White Bird is a 39-year old private non-profit with a grassroots beginning and a collective structure. We have operated with 330(h)funding since 1987. Our service area is Lane County, Oregon, with a population of 345,880 residents, and a growing homeless population, now estimated 13,500. Over 95% of our homeless are uninsured and in need of low/no-cost health care services. We are seeing an increasing number of people were not homeless last year but due to recent job losses are no longer housed. These homeless have experienced a downward spiral in which they have neglected their health care and they are inexperienced in accessing services. Our growing unemployment rate stood at 11.9% in January. The unmet needs for homeless health services in Lane County include: access to crisis counseling with information and referral; medical and dental services, and substance abuse counseling to reduce risky behaviors. We will need these needs with Increased Demand for Services funding as follows: a) Added medical practitioner time to increase access to medical services; b) Added dental practitioner time to increase access to oral health services; c) Added medical and dental back and front office staff to increase productivity by allowing the practitioners to see more patients; d) Restore FTE lost from crisis counseling for homeless, due to local funding cuts. As is it unusual to be homeless without some mental destabilization, crisis situations arise regularly and rapidly what render the person too unbalanced by their problem(s) to be able to digest information or carry out referrals; e) Retain FTE for homeless substance abuse counselor, threatened by local funding cuts. Our Case Managers will continue outreach, benefits assistance, transportation assistance and on-going case management in order to connect homeless people to the services they need, as quickly as possible. In order to respond to the health care needs cited above, we plan: a) to increase clinic services by adding three hours of Medical doctor time, thus adding one more half-day clinic which is open to homeless patients. We will also support increased physician productivity by adding .4FTE medical back office support staff who are capable of some patient care and education, thus increasing the number of patients who can been seen by the physician. We will add .2FTE front office staff to cover the additional clinic hours and patients. We will add .1FTE (four hours) Pharmacy Assistant to cover the increased demand for free/reduced-cost medications. We will increase the medical clinic coordinator's time by .175FTE in order to manage these increases in services and patients, as well as the reporting requirements. b) to augment clinic care we will increase Dentist time by four hours, thus adding one more half-day clinic open to homeless patients. In order to support dentist productivity, we will also add .2FTE dental assistant time. c) to restore .3FTE of Crisis Counselor time. We have recently lost funding for 1.2 FTE of crisis counseling time available for homeless people. This is an important gateway to homeless services because it allows us to work with homeless in crisis, stabilize them and support their planning for health and others services access to get through at least another day. d) to retain .3FTE of Substance Abuse Counselor time. State Alcohol and Drug monies, of which we receive roughly $108,000 annually, are now uncertain due to stte budgeting issues. These funds have long supported our homeless substance abuse counseling.
Project Description: The additional IDS services will be welcomed and provide relief, not just to homeless peo0ple unable to access health care services, but also to staff who are sensitive to the unmet needs that make their work difficult, sad and prolonged. Collaborating agencies will welcome the referral options of these additional services; hospital emergency rooms will find some reduction from overcrowding as well. a) Homeless people will access an additional medical clinic each week. We plan to service an additional 450 new homeless people in 600 encounters as we increase the productivity with physician support from both front and back office staff. b) Homeless people will access an additional four hours of dental clinic time each week with the dentist fully support for optimal productivity, serving an additional 250 new homeless in 480 encounters. c) Crisis counseling will continue to reduce the panic experienced and stabilize homeless clients, allowing them to receive and act on the information and referrals. Restoring some crisis counseling time will allow us to maintain our 24/7 services and add 60 clients, due primarily to the increased number of homeless in crisis. d) Self-medication creates problems in assessment and treatment for a disproportionately large number of homeless people. Alcohol and drug abuse treatment requires a trained counselor with a special heart for the work; when we find those folks we hate to let them go. Retaining substance abuse counselor time will ensure our continued homeless treatment services and allow an additional 40 homeless people with access to needed care.
Jobs Summary: In order to respond to the health care needs cited above, we plan: a) to increase clinic services by adding three hours of Medical doctor time, thus adding one more half-day clinic which is open to homeless patients. We will also support increased physician productivity by adding .4FTE medical back office support staff who are capable of some patient care and education, thus increasing the number of patients who can been seen by the physician. We will add .2FTE front office staff to cover the additional clinic hours and patients. We will add .1FTE (four hours) Pharmacy Assistant to cover the increased demand for free/reduced-cost medications. We will increase the medical clinic coordinator's time by .175FTE in order to manage these increases in services and patients, as well as the reporting requirements. b) to augment clinic care we will increase Dentist time by four hours, thus adding one more half-day clinic open to homeless patients. In order to support dentist productivity, we will also add .2FTE dental assistant time. c) to restore .3FTE of Crisis Counselor time. We have recently lost funding for 1.2 FTE of crisis counseling time available for homeless people. This is an important gateway to homeless services because it allows us to work with homeless in crisis, stabilize them and support their planning for health and others services access to get through at least another day. d) to retain .3FTE of Substance Abuse Counselor time. State Alcohol and Drug monies, of which we receive roughly $108,000 annually, are now uncertain due to stte budgeting issues. These funds have long supported our homeless substance abuse counseling. (Total jobs reported: 2)
Project Status: Less Than 50% Completed
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