HEALTH CENTERS ARE CRITICAL for providing care to the community

JAMIE ULMER, CEO of Healthcare Network

For more than 50 years, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), otherwise known as Community Health Centers, have focused on health equity and social justice in health care—caring for those who disproportionately suffer from chronic diseases and poorer health outcomes regardless of their income or insurance status.

Providing high-quality health care to the Collier County community for 45 years, Healthcare Network is among the more than 1,400 Federally Qualified Health Centers around the country.

Community Health Centers like Healthcare Network are not ordinary medical clinics. We are also problem-solvers who reach beyond the exam room to care for the whole person, such as connecting patients to resources like food and housing that are essential for a person’s complete wellbeing.

Services include family care, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, senior care, and pharmacy as well as dental care and integrated behavioral health. Additionally, our team of community health workers bring health and social services directly to underserved families through door-to-door canvassing and health fairs.

Our new maternal-fetal medicine program focuses on women with high-risk or complicated pregnancies, specialty care not always available to low-income mothers. In addition, we offer a wide range of in-office procedures such as management of ectopic pregnancy, the Loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) to prevent cervical cancer and vulvar biopsy.

These procedures were previously only accessible to our patients at a hospital, where the cost to the patient was often prohibitive.

We have added Chronic Care Management to provide ongoing wellness support, increased access to medical resources and enhanced communication. This team helps patients with two or more chronic conditions reduce emergency room visits and hospitalization while increasing engagement in their own healthcare.

Healthcare Network patients continue to benefit from an integrated behavioral health model, where patients are screened for mental and behavioral health issues during regular primary care appointments.

Patients and the community needing traditional mental and behavioral health services now have another wellness resource with our new Psychology Center for Health and Wellness at Nichols Community Health Center in Golden Gate.

To better serve our families, we are also expanding pediatric services. In September, Healthcare Network launched two new pediatric offerings—Pediatric Convenient Care and extended hours for pediatric dental services.

Our Pediatric Convenient Care at the Nichols Community Health Center offers same-day care for infants, children and teens with minor illnesses and injuries. Through our Dental Care East office, we extended pediatric appointments from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. so children will not need to miss valuable school time.

Since our founding in Immokalee in 1977, Healthcare Network has distinguished itself by providing primary care to men, women and children of all ages, helping the disenfranchised, underinsured and uninsured of our communities, as well as those with insurance and resources who recognize the quality and comprehensiveness of care available.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jamie Ulmer became President and CEO of Healthcare Network in July after serving as CEO for a FQHC in Marion County, Florida. He serves on the executive and chair committees for the Florida Association of Community Health Centers and is a member of multiple committees for the National Association of Community Health Centers.

For more information, visit healthcareswfl.org.