Nikki King, Executive Director of Health Care Access, chats about the agency, including the effects of losing $38,000 in state funding.

smitty

If someone has a complaint about the medical assistance from HCA, what process is in place for an appeal review of adequate medical procedures and referrrals by HCA staff?

smitty

Has your clinic ever had a complaint for malpractice?

smitty

Would the co-joining of Heartland and HCA provide better service both finacilly and expertise wise?

smitty

JWhat agency ceritfies the nurse practioner that can look at a malpractice concern?

smitty

Why was I turned down for a review while you were on pregnacy leave?

Moderator

Thank you for joining us for our online chat with Nikki King, Executive Director of the Health Care Access Clinic. We’ll begin our question and answer session in just a few minutes.

Nikki King

Thank you for having me – I look forward to answering your questions.

Moderator

Nikki, thank you for joining us. Maybe you could begin by summarizing your current funding situation.

Nikki King

We typically have received about half of our funding from a combination of State, City, County and United Way funds, then raising the other $150,000 or so from fundraisers and donors each year. We just learned that our State funding was significantly reduced – more than 10% of our annual budget.

Nikki King

While I have prepared our Board for such a day that a grant or government funding could dry-up, this is still a major blow that we were not at all prepared for.

KenW

what are the clinics plans to get more funding to replace the state cut and/or the cuts that the clinic is willing to make because of the state funds lost?

Nikki King

The last thing we want to do is cut services to the uninsured for whom we provide health care (more than 14% of Douglas County is uninsured). Raising fees for our patients is also not very feasible as 75% of our patient population have incomes at or below the poverty level. I have faith that the community will recognize the importance of providing health care to the working-poor and will contribute what they can to help make up our $38,000 loss.

Nikki King

We currently charge $10 to our patients to be seen at the Clinic for anything from colds and flu to management of chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. Our patients have access to more than 100 volunteer physicians, hospital services, and other medical professionals to further treat their illnesses. Moreover, we access pharmaceutical programs to provide medication for our patients (worth over $700,000 each year). If we mandated higher charges for services, this population would resort to the emergency room at much higher costs to the health care system and to their health outcomes.

HappyFace

A year or so ago I met on hard times and I was very blessed that your establishment was there to help me.

(1.) If I could give back….what would be your greatest need at this time?

(comment: Your front desk gals do not project the same caring as your other staff….could you train them to be a little more friendly?)

Thanks again….
and God bless you all. 🙂

Nikki King

In addition to donating, we always welcome volunteer for a variety of tasks (cleaning, running errands, filing, pulling weeds, inventorying medication). Volunteer applications are on our website www.healthcareaccess.org . I sorry one of our staff was not more friendly, but I am pleased to say we have never had a more positive, helpful staff in our entire history as we do right now. Quality service is very important to the leadership of the Clinic.

Nikki King

We are also very aware that many uninsured individuals in our community do not know of our services (a well kept secret since 1988) and we encourage anyone who has been without a recent check-up at the very least contact us to see if they qualify for our services. Catching a health condition at the earliest possible stage is more cost-effective and has better health outcomes … so spread the word!

justthefacts

I have heard that one of the candidates for Insurance Commissioner wants to remove the current requirement that employers and insurance companies offering health care coverage must include mental health care. Is that true? What are the current rules for insurance coverage of mental health care costs, and would there be any alternative sources of monetary help for middle income people who may suffer from and need help with such things as depression.

Nikki King

I am not able to answer this question, but would encourage you to contact the Insurance Commissioner’s office or the Kansas Mental Health Association for more information. Since we exclusively serve the uninsured, we do not keep on top of the insurance coverage mandates. Our Clinic does not duplicate services with the mental health agencies in town, but does work in collaboration with patients who need both physical and mental health care. Only mild depression or anxiety that co-presents with a physical illness is able to be treated by our staff.

JackJ

If 14% od DGCO is uninsured, that’s about 14,000 people. How many patients are seen at HCA?

Nikki King

Just as our agency facilitates the access of physical health medication for patients, mental health agencies could access similar program for mental health medications.

Nikki King

We see about 1000 indiviuals each year, each averaging three or more visits each year. Over our 18 years, we have served more than 10,000 people in more than 40,000 visits. We would love to have more of that 14% visit us for preventative care and health screenings (including breast and cervical cancer screenings), but many don’t want to ask for help until there is a very prominant need.

smitty

What is your practice of over sight for the nurse practioner service that you offer?

Nikki King

Our ARNP is certified, and practices under specific protocols of a licensed, board certified MD who has priviledges at Lawrence Memorial Hospital. In addition, the 100+ physicians who treat our patients are all credentialed and screened by LMH before they volunteer. We can proudly say our current ARNP is extremely resourceful and user-friendly and each year since her employement she has received very high marks on our annual patient satisfaction survey (as has all of our current staff).

jae

What do you estimate that it costs to serve each patient at the clinic per year, including all the volunteer services you use?

Nikki King

Our cost to provide and facilitate health care for one uninsured individual for one year is approximately $360 (a dollar a day). The generous medical community and pharmaceutical companies and other volunteers contribute another $2million worth of service to our patients each year (while our budget is only $300,000). We turn $1 of support into over $6 worth of service thanks to this collaboration.

smitty

Is there a review process if a client feels they have experienced malpractice at the hands of HCA?

Nikki King

The Board and Medical Director and I certainly want to know about such feelings, which could be submitted in writing to the Clinic for our review.

Moderator

That wraps up our online chat with Nikki King, Executive Director of Lawrence’s Health Care Access Clinic. Nikki, thanks for taking our questions today.

Nikki King

Thank you to the City and County for their additional support in light of our State funding reduction. Thanks also to the World Company for their assistance in raising awareness of the Clinic’s services to the uninsured in our community.