It was once said that “good ideas are not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice with courageous patience.” This statement can be used to provide insight into this organization’s founding and development. To Roberta Watts, as the founder of our organization, you took the first step in creating an organization to act as a catalyst in the community. As the current torchbearers of your mission, the board and staff of Quality of Life is striving to live up to the promise you made thirty-five years ago.
Today, this organization faces the challenges of the health care system. The barriers of affordability and accessibility are more pronounced now than ever. The lack of insurance, limited incomes and other factors leave many communities without health care. Quality of Life has worked for thirty-five (35) years to tear down these barriers and to reach the underserved.
The promise made to offer a health center solution in needy communities continues to be a focus of the organization. Partnerships with school systems, public housing, private physicians, health departments and hospitals have been of assistance in the implementation of a health center model.
Quality of Life now operates health centers in ten counties within its twelve-county service area. Our locations all represent effective local models for health care.Today, this organization faces the challenges of the health care system. The barriers of affordability and accessibility are more pronounced now than ever.
While the need for health centers continues to rise, funding is stagnant. One round of funding for new health centers took place in 2011 when sixty-seven (67) of 1,900 applications were funded nationwide. With that funding, Cherokee Quality Health Care opened in Cedar Bluff this past December. Since this time some added funding for new locations was awarded in June of this year. Funding in the coming years is projected to be very minimal, and grants will be extremely competitive.
The promise made to breakdown the three major barriers limiting health care access results from the existence of Quality of Life’s network. First, Quality of Life eliminates the barrier of affordability. Health care and insurance costs continue to soar at an alarming rate in the midst of an economic recession when more and more families are struggling to make ends meet. Employer-sponsored insurance coverage remains beyond reach of the over 12 million people who are currently unemployed and the 5 million people who have been searching for a job longer than six months. Unemployed workers, many of whom were once comfortably middle class, are priced out of the individual private health insurance market, while still being ineligible for Medicaid.
Second, Quality of Life breaks down the barrier of availability. Even if people can afford health care or health insurance, it does not necessarily mean that health care providers are available to them. The U.S. is sorely in need of more primary care providers, especially primary care providers who accept all new patients regardless of insurance status. Most primary care practices limit their patient intake according to health insurance, with Medicaid patients having a far more difficult time finding a primary care practitioner than privately insured patients.
Lastly, our organization strives to breakdown accessibility issues resulting from cultural and geographic barriers. Some people may not be able to travel to providers due to long geographic distances and a lack of transportation services. Others may be unable to communicate with or understand their providers or the health care system because of language or cultural differences. Even when patients overcome all other barriers to find care, they may feel that their condition stigmatizes them in the eyes of the providers, or the provider may not be equipped to deal with their health needs, social circumstances or language and cultural orientation.
The promise made to improve health outcomes is the ongoing mission of Quality of Life. Individuals who face barriers to health care and healthy living are at risk of developing poor health outcomes. More and more Americans are experiencing morbidity as the prevalence of chronic disease and disabilities rises. Morbidity not only affects the length and quality of a person’s life but also their economic stability if they have to take time off work or spend costly sums on health care. Poor health outcomes can be mitigated and even prevented through the use of effective primary care, which includes disease management.
All of our accomplishments to this point are based on the promise made thirty-five (35) years ago. Lastly, our organization strives to breakdown accessibility issues resulting from cultural and geographic barriers.
Quality of Life continues to be committed to doing everything possible to propel the organization’s mission and vision. Now as a part of my Annual Report, I would like to highlight our accomplishments over the past year:
* A Strategic Retreat of key staff and board members was held at Regency Pointe on April 11th – 12th and a new two-year workplan for our Leadership Team was developed at that meeting.
* A Reach Out and Read Grant was awarded for continuation of the program which offers books for those patients age six months to five years who obtain a wellness screening.
* The Woodland Quality Pharmacy opened for business in Randolph County in September of 2011.
* The Andy Chaffin Diabetic Summit was held for the sixth time on September 14th of 2011.
* Quality of Life renewed its partnerships with the Central Alabama Sickle Cell Foundation during the year, providing that organization with support in its fund-raising efforts and donating office space for counseling and group sessions.
* A new mobile medical and dental unit was funded through the School-Based Capital Grant program, and the unit is currently under construction, with delivery anticipated in mid-July. This unit will be used to travel between Gadsden City Schools and other venues in order to remove the transportation barrier for students and other hard-to-reach populations.
* A New Access Point was funded for Cherokee County and a new location with medical, dental and optometry services opened in Cedar Bluff, Alabama in December of 2011.
* A Primary Care Medical Home (PCMH) initiative began in September of 2011 and will continue until QOLHS becomes certified with JCAHO as a medical home no later than September of 2013. This initiative will provide better case management and coordination of care.
* The Prescription Assistance Program (PAP) in conjunction with the pharmacy department assisted patients in obtaining valuable discounts on prescription medications through Sharing the Care (STC) and other PAP programs. During this past fiscal year those savings to patients accounted for $ 5,423,933.00.
* Quality of Life continued its management of the New Beginnings Maternity Care program for District III with approximately 2,000 healthy babies being delivered this past year. Calhoun, Cleburne, Cherokee, Dekalb and Etowah Counties are all areas served by the New Beginnings Program, which offers a case managed approach to prenatal care and delivery designed to improve health outcomes.
* Quality of Life received $ 500,000 in capital funding for immediate needs to upgrade its buildings and equipment at four (4) locations within our network.
* A new logo was unveiled for the organization last year at this time, and Quality of Life is in the process of updating its literature and signage to reflect the changes.
* Etowah County Community Development funds to assist with new computers and upgraded signs was received during the past fiscal year, and this funding also provided the opportunity to purchase equipment for our medical practices in Etowah County.
All of the achievements of this past year and over the past thirty-five years show our continued commitment to the mission of Quality of Life. This organization will continue to extend this mission for many years to come. The key to longevity is to do our job better than anyone else. We will work hard at that and in getting the message about our organization to the communities where there are unmet needs.
As First Lady Michelle Obama states, “to make a change in the world you pull people in with inspiration, but then you have to roll up your sleeves and you’ve got to make sacrifices and you have to have a structure.” We are inspired by our past and current leadership and we stand ready to work hard – making the necessary sacrifices to continue to make this organization a key factor in the health care community. All of this within a structure that has existed and worked well for thirty-five years. All of this to live up to the promise made thirty-five years ago.
