Florida Facility Tends Homeless Patients

A non-profit organization called Tampa Family Health Centers converted a Tampa police substation into an urgent care facility for homeless, uninsured and insured patients this summer. The staff members there experience so many heart-warming stories about under-privileged patients that after a while the stories all seem normal, one staff member said.

The common denominator usually involves a lack of insurance coverage, according to Stephanie Theaker, chief operation officer of Tampa Family Health Centers. Most Tampa Family patients lack adequate insurance.

“I think the one story that sticks out in my mind the most is a patient that had gone to the ER and he was diabetic and did not have any insurance,” Theaker said. “He was seen in the ER for his diabetes being out of control but was given a prescription for medication and referred to our clinic. He did not have money for the medication and no medical home.”

The staff members at Tampa Family got the patient his diabetes medication and have been treating him ever since. On another occasion, the staff treated a homeless patient and helped him get into a shelter.

“I guess for us we take these stories for granted because it’s a natural thing for us to assist these types of patients,” Theaker said. “Some of our patients have stated how the clinic has really helped with allowing them to have a place to come in during the evening hours without having an appointment. They also have stated how much they like the fact that they don’t have to wait long hours to be seen.”

In that way, the facility is the same as other urgent care centers. Its origin, however, is unique. Medical graduate students started Tampa Family Health Centers in 1984 as a grass-roots effort to help poor people, and used healthcare grants to fund the organization. The nonprofit has grown to six centers. They receive federal and state grants and get support from county programs and other nonprofits.

The staff members at Tampa Family Urgent Care Center ask patients to pay what they can, and no one is turned away. The section of Tampa that the center is in lacks walk in clinics.

“The feedback has been very positive from patients and the community during the first month of opening the clinic (and) has far exceeded our expectations,” Theaker said. She added, though, that many people in the area still have no idea the facility exists.

There should be more sliding-fee urgent care centers in the United States, partly because the service saves tax payers a great deal of money, Theaker said. She is only aware of two urgent care centers in Florida that accept patients on a sliding scale.

Not being able to depend on patient payments does create financial stress sometimes, especially since grants only cover 20 percent of the operating expenses, she said. Money, however, is not the priority.

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines

Read Comments [0]