FLINT, Mich. -- When it comes to complete health care, access is key.
A new health clinic has set up inside a public housing complex near Flint's southeast side to bring holistic care to an under-served population, according to The Flint Journal ( http://bit.ly/1oOIreW ).
It's the second Genesee Community Health Center to open as a primary care provider for residents who wouldn't normally have care, or at least the care would not be easily accessible, said Linda Bielskis, executive director of Genesee Community Health Center.
The center would provide care to the 240 residents at the Atherton East Complex, along with nearby neighborhoods. It's more than just being there when they are sick, she said.
"It helps decrease health disparities in the community, especially this area because they don't have great access to care," Bielskis said, adding that visiting a health care provider can be intimidating. "We want to take the time to develop the relationships and the trust to really help people get well."
Since the beginning of the year, clinic staff have gone through the complex to introduce themselves to residents and help answer any questions they had. A family fun day took place in July.
The clinic officially opened Aug. 4. Staff can now start scheduling appointments for patients.
This new health center has been two years in the making.
In June 2012, Genesee Health System, then known as Genesee County Community Mental Health, received a $608,333 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to cover startup costs for two health clinics. The first one opened in October 2012 in Flint.
That clinic, which saw 1,200 new patients last year, reaches out to residents who are uninsured or underinsured, with a focus on the homeless. The aim for the second clinic was always to be located near public housing.
It just took a little longer to get it up and running, Bielskis said.
The roughly 2,000-square-foot facility is located inside a building that used to be used as apartments in Atherton East. Roughly 40 percent of the buildings in the public housing complex are occupied in, Bielskis said.
Renovations to the new clinic cost $280,000.
The new Genesee Community Health Center will have four permanent staff members — front desk medical specialist, nurse practitioner, medical assistant and licensed social worker. There will also be health counselors and case managers on site on a rotating basis to help meet patients' needs.
The new clinic has a waiting area and front desk, a lab area, medical storage room, an office for the social worker, three exam rooms with room to expand. Bielskis hopes to also use two rooms to do dental work.
"We want to see what (patients) come for. We want to be flexible to the population. We really have a lot of options to grow," she said. "Here we are two years later, which is just outrageously exciting. It's been a long time coming."
The connection with the two health clinics and Genesee Health System is a rare one, said Dannis Russell, Genesee Health System CEO. When they received the grant in 2012, they were the only community mental health program to get grant dollars for a health clinic.
"Not many mental health centers have done this," Russell said. "It's unique because it was the old separation. You do mental health, you take care of the head and let the primary care provider take care of the body. That never worked well. The communication between the two never worked well. It was a very complicated process."
Now the focus is on the person as a whole — primary care, mental health, behavioral health, physical health and counseling.
Even though it took a lot of work and time to get the new clinic open, it was well worth it, Russell said.
"To get that final clinic open, it's a big sigh of relief and a good feeling of accomplishment that we're finally going to be able to provide services in that location," he said. "We're just very happy to be part of the community and really look forward to be able to provide good services."
Swahetti Lewis, 44, of Flint will be one of the clinic's first patients. Living in the Atherton East Complex, Lewis said he would maybe go to see the doctor once a year because it was inconvenient. With the new clinic he said he could go as much as once a month, if needed.
"That is real convenient. ... There are a lot of young ladies that could use it with children. It's so convenient for them. It's excellent to have it for the community out there," he said.
Lewis wishes more subdivisions and neighborhoods could have a clinic like this one.
If residents are feeling sick they just have to go down the street, he said.
"The biggest benefit is just getting yourself healthy,' Lewis said. "It's just like a bike ride to the clinic. It's not even two blocks from the clinic."
The Genesee Community Health Center is not only good for the residents' health, but it's a good step forward for the whole community, Lewis said.
"That's the thing about it, it's in a rough neighborhood. But they're still trying to reach the people and that will help. I'm glad they did it," he said, adding that the staff is taking time to really get to know people. "It eased (residents') tension. They talk to you. They don't just sit there. They actually carry on a conversation and they actually care.
"I think they are heading in the right direction. It's a beautiful plan."
Public bus services don't go directly to Atherton East, Bielskis said, and sometimes parents have to have a child miss a full day of school just to take the time to get them to the doctor. Transportation is also a barrier for many residents in that area, but the clinic should help eliminate all those barriers, she said.
Often, residents in underserved areas will wait until their illness or condition was so bad they needed to go to the emergency room, which the most expensive type of health care, Bielskis said. The hope is to help get chronic illnesses under control and help patients stay healthy and have a higher quality of life, she said.
"This was an area we really knew this was a need," Bielskis said.
Usually, people who live in public housing also qualify for Michigan's Medicaid expansion, Medicare or qualify for the community-funded health care of Genesee Health Plan. But if someone comes to the clinic uninsured, the first action taken would be to help them enroll for insurance, Bielskis said.
Genesee County Community Mental Health changed its name to Genesee Health System on March 20, 2103, less than a year after getting the grant to open two health clinics.
The new name is intended to reflect caring for a patient in a holistic approach, not just focusing on mental health. Both of the Genesee Community Health Centers fit that model.
"I think it's a very natural progression for us. We had already been doing these types of initiatives," Russell said.
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Information from: The Flint Journal, http://bit.ly/1eGBdvc
This is an AP Member Exchange shared by The Flint Journal.
