Schuylkill County's VISION is spearheading an effort to establisha health center to serve people with low incomes and no insurance.
'We're part of the Schuylkill County Work Group for CommunityHealth, which is working to develop a Community Health Center orFederally Qualified Health Center for Schuylkill County,' said KayJones, who was officially named county VISION executive directorJune 7.
The group is hoping to establish a clinic for people withoutinsurance, akin to the Rural Health Corp. of northeasternPennsylvania's Black Creek Health Center, Nuremberg, which primarilyserves Wyoming and Luzerne counties.
'Our goal is to provide access to comprehensive primary andpreventive medical and dental services to residents of all incomelevels within our service area in northeastern Pennsylvania, withspecial emphasis on the underinsured and underserved,' according toRural Health's website at www.rhcnepa.com.
Federally qualified health centers receive special funding fromMedicaid that allows them to provide comprehensive care regardlessof ability to pay, Jones said when interviewed July 28.
'They provide a medical home and coordinated care includingdental and behavioral health. They develop strong relationships withthe providers and agencies that work with the underservedpopulations in the communities,' Jones said.
On July 27, Schuylkill County's VISION and representatives of theCommonwealth Medical College met at Penn State Schuylkill to startthe planning process.
The medical college is a community-based, nonprofit medicalschool established in 2009 to serve the health workforce needs of 16counties in northeast Pennsylvania. Its innovative curriculum emphasizes early clinical experiences with primary care physicians,evidence-based practice and a public health orientation to communityhealth and health care delivery, according to Jones.
They're in the process of assembling a group of community leadersto back the project.
'The present work group is comprised of a number of communityinstitutions, agencies and individuals who support the formation ofa Community Health Center and desire to be active in its design,'Jones said.
The group includes representatives from the four hospitalslocated in the county, Schuylkill Medical Centers at South JacksonStreet and East Norwegian Street, both of Pottsville; SaintCatherine Medical Center Fountain Springs; and Saint Luke's MinersMemorial Hospital, Coaldale. It also includes representatives ofarea educational institutions, social service organizations,government agencies and community members.
As the planning work of the group continues, more groups andcommunity members will be invited to participate.
'Right now, there are about 30 people on this group, includingVISION,' Jones said.
The philosophy of these community health centers is that they arecommunity designed and governed.
The Schuylkill County Work Group for Community Health willexplain that process in a series of public meetings, to begin inSeptember, Jones said.
'The governing board must be made up of at least 51 percentconsumers of the services. The model used and the placement of thecenter are choices made by the community. These public meetings willhave presentations on the purpose of a Community Health Center inSchuylkill County and will allow the public to ask questions,identify needs and priorities and become actively involved,' Jonessaid.
The members of the work group will meet to start planning thesepublic meetings at 1 p.m. Aug. 19, but a location for that meetingstill hasn't been set, Jones said.
