In September 2004, the Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) awarded three Service Expansion and one Expanded Medical Capacity grants to four Montana Community Health Centers (CHCs) for a total of $1,005,000 in new funds. With these grants, Montana CHCs expect to add over 10,000 medical/dental visits to services already being provided. In addition to the impact the expansions will have in improving health care to the underserved, the BPHC funding is proving to be a powerful economic stimulus. Contractors and laborers are remodeling facilities and moving equipment to make space for additional services. An update of the CHC grant recipients’ activities follows:
Lincoln County Community Health Center (LCCHC) – Libby received $150,000 for Dental Expansion in Libby. LCCHC had been alternating dentist and hygienist time in a one-chair operatory in their clinic. With the expansion, the dental clinic will relocate to space leased in a separate facility with three operatories, and dental and hygiene services will now be available Monday through Friday. Dentist Dr. Jim Greiner will increase his practice to full time. Also, LCCHC added a second part-time hygienist, a part-time dental assistant, and a full time receptionist. Dental Coordinator Holly Haugen, who has been with the dental program since its inception, will coordinate the schedule as well as assist with dental procedures. “We will start seeing patients on December 6, actually ahead of the initial target date,” comments Haugen, who also described how contractors have been installing the wiring, plumbing, and flooring necessary to accommodate an up-to-date dental clinic in what formerly was office space. “Everything on the dental project has gone very smoothly,” says Executive Director Maria Clemons. “We know how much the dental services are needed here and can hardly wait to get started.”
Community Health Partners (CHP) – Livingston received $550,000 from the BPHC in an Expanded Medical Capacity grant which will enable them to provide primary care to 3,000 new patients in Gallatin County by 2006. The first year’s funding allotted $440,000 for hiring staff for the expansion, an amount that is expected to be ongoing. BPHC also awarded CHP $110,000 in 2004 for remodeling the Gallatin Community Clinic to accommodate the additional staff. “We did an intensive needs assessment in Park and Gallatin Counties to determine what the greatest needs are,” commented Executive Director Laurie Francis. CHP determined the greatest priority to be providing primary care to the rapidly increasing underserved population in the Gallatin valley. “This grant will allow us to hire physicians and mid-level providers, probably a total of four part-time, over two years,” states Gallatin Community Clinic Director Buck Taylor, “and add four medical support positions which will include nursing and administrative personnel.” Taylor anticipates that remodeling will begin at Gallatin Community Clinic on December 1, 2004.
Montana Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Council (MMC) – Billings was awarded $160,000 from BPHC to provide mental health and substance abuse counseling services at their clinic sites across the state. “We will begin providing services for agricultural farmworkers as soon as possible,” said Claudia Stephens, Research & Development Coordinator for the Council, stating that services to be offered include prevention education, screening, diagnosis, short-term treatment, brief individual counseling, follow-up, and limited medication assistance. “We urge anyone with an agricultural farmworker background to call our clinic, at 406-248-3149 or 1-800-813-4492 (for those outside the calling area) to see if they are eligible for services,” said Stephens, adding that “for a long time we knew that our farmworker patients had almost no access to such counseling services, even though a great number were in need. Finally, President Bush has given us the ability to actually provide these important services in Spanish and in a way that is culturally sensitive.” Stephens says that in 2003, they saw an increase of 85% in patients whose primary diagnosis involved mental health issues and a 57% increase in mental health problems as the secondary diagnosis, compared to 2002. The Montana Migrant Council, established in 1971, provides basic health care services through 9 clinics in Montana, to 60% of the estimated patient population of 10,400 farmworkers and their families.
Partnership Health Center (PHC) – Missoula received $145,000 in a BPHC dental expansion grant. In 2003, under Dental Director Dr. Ryan Huckeby, PHC had restructured its dental program and were able to add a second dentist, Dr. Andrew Althauser. PHC grant writer Alisa Reich commented, “When we applied for BPHC funding in 2004, our application was very strong because we could show how much we had accomplished already and that the need was still there.” The funding announcement coincided with the assignment of a third dentist, Dr. Steve Johnson, to PHC through the Ready Responder branch of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The grant will be used for space and equipment to accommodate the dentists by adding the three new dental chairs, with one chair in a private area designed to meet special needs of children, frail adults, and the disabled. Space was made in the existing building by converting a staff conference room into a dental operatory, and for several months, medical and dental services have gone on as usual amidst the construction. “The dental expansion really demonstrates our entire staff’s commitment to expanding dental services in this community,” says Executive Director Ed Mahn. Up to now, the PHC dental team has been backlogged with over 2,000 people on the waiting list. “Now we can actually decrease the waiting list and better meet the need,” states Reich.
