Press Release – Chiricahua Among Top 5% of Community Health Centers
Published in the Sierra Vista Herald Oct 3, 2016, and Douglas Dispatch Oct 12, 2016
By Sarah Pacheco, Public Relations and Media Specialist for CCHCI
In late August, Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (CCHCI) hosted reviewers from the Health Resources and Services Agency (HRSA) for an Operational Site Visit Review. The site review is an extensive examination used to assess the compliance of participants in the Health Center Program, with 128 review items summarized into 19 overarching requirements identified in federal regulations. The report from the visit was published last week and HRSA declared that CCHCI met all components of the each of the 19 requirements. Passing the site review with such high marks puts CCHCI among the top 5 percent of health centers in the country who have undergone this review.
Nearly 1,400 health centers nationwide provide high quality comprehensive preventive and primary health care to patients regardless of their ability to pay. Approximately 1 in 14 people in the U.S. relies on a HRSA-funded health center for medical care. A Federally Qualified Health Center is an entity that serves a population that is medically underserved. A portion of the review process includes an evaluation of the center’s treatment of medically underserved populations, including migratory and seasonal agricultural workers, the homeless and residents of public housing.
John McDonald, Chief Executive Officer of the Arizona Alliance of Community Health Centers said, “As the Primary Care Association for the state of Arizona, the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers is very proud to congratulate Chiricahua Community Health Centers’ completion of a rigorous federal Operational Site Visit Review, having met 19 of the 19 associated requirements. Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. embodies the mission of the Health Center Program and it is evident from the staff members that maintain and care for the clinics to the administrative team, and everyone in between. We offer our sincere congratulations and continued support.”
Health centers apply for grant funding in order to care for medically underserved populations and to remove barriers to care in their service area. On average, HRSA grant funding contributes 18 percent of a health center’s operating revenue, the remaining revenue is generated through traditional revenue generating activities: Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance, and patient fees. Chiricahua received 22 percent of their revenue from HRSA grant funding in their fiscal year ending April 2016.
Jonathan Melk, M.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc, said,”CCHCI operates on a team-based model. Our team, including our Board of Directors, worked very hard for more than a year to prepare for this intensive review. As only the top 5 percent of health centers nationwide achieve a ‘perfect score’, we were obviously thrilled to achieve this status. This feat could only be accomplished by a team of close-knit of individuals deeply dedicated to our organization and mission. I feel so fortunate to have the talents and commitment of each and every one of them as a member of CCHCI’s team.”
CCHCI’s dedication to their mission and vision of “Health for All” was apparent to the site reviewers and was noted in the report as a best practice that other Health Center Program grantees could consider for implementation. The reviewers were impressed that staff at CCHCI consistently brought up the “why” for working at CCHCI. The report stated, “Every time a discussion or meeting or presentation occurs within the health center, or for the board or in other settings, the employee who is starting to speak first provides their “why” for being at CCHCI. This keeps the focus on the passion for services, versus the typical it’s-just-a-job approach to employment.”
Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. is a mission-driven Federally Qualified Health Center and is a tax exempt not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It was founded as a grassroots community effort in 1996 as a makeshift clinic in Elfrida’s small community center and has since grown to be the largest primary care organization in southeastern Arizona. CCHCI currently has seven clinics in Bisbee, Douglas, Elfrida and Sierra Vista and three mobile medical units that serve Cochise County.