PARKER FAMILY HEALTH CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
The Parker Family Health Center is a volunteer-based clinic providing comprehensive, compassionate health care free of charge to uninsured, low-income residents of Monmouth County, NJ. Open six days a week, Parker logs close to 10,000 patient visits annually, with over 125,000 cumulative visits since opening in July 2000. Clinic services include children’s health and dental care, cancer screening, diabetes and other chronic disease management, employment and school physicals, adult and child immunizations, a link to specialty care, assistance with insurance eligibility, social service referrals, and an affordable prescription drug program. Medical care is provided by 200 volunteers who donate 10,000 hours of service annually and keep the Parker Center cost-effective. The Center is completely supported by philanthropic donations. Over 90 percent of donations fund direct patient care.
About This Cause
In the late 1990s, with national headlines on the uninsured fueling the headlines almost daily, a group of physicians and other local leaders started looking at better ways to care for the uninsured in Monmouth County. What caught their attention was the possibility of tapping a rich resource of local medical talent and channeling the power of medical volunteers to serve the needy—people with neither health insurance, nor the means to pay for health care. Going door-to-door, the clinic founders learned that 95 percent of local Latino families and 30 percent of African-Americans lacked health insurance. Most people were employed, but as household help or in small businesses that could not afford employee coverage. The need was clear, and the Parker Family Health Center, named for a revered local physician who was about to retire, opened on July 29, 2000, in a donated trailer outfitted for medical care by the local hospital. Three patients were seen on the first night, and the reputation of the clinic grew by word of mouth throughout the county. At present, one-third of patients are Red Bank residents, while two-thirds come from almost every Monmouth County municipality. Today, the Parker clinic logs close to 10,000 patient visits annually and celebrated a significant milestone—the 100,000th visit—in September 2013. Each year at Parker, to give some key services and accomplishments: • Over 300 diabetic patients are maintaining their health by learning to manage a lifelong disease that can cause serious disability and premature death when untreated. • 150 children receive comprehensive medical and dental care for a healthy start in life. • Close to 300 women have access to life-saving breast cancer screening and any necessary treatment. Parker Family Health Center Services Open Monday through Saturday, the Parker Family Health Center focuses on preventive services, chronic disease management and children’s health as the areas of greatest impact. Clinic services, provided to any low-income, uninsured Monmouth County resident, include the following: • Comprehensive pediatric care • Children’s dental screening and treatment • Adult and child immunizations • Women’s health and breast health care • Diabetes education and treatment • Chronic disease management • Cancer screening • Diagnostic testing • Referrals for specialty care • Affordable prescription drugs • Help with insurance eligibility • Clinic-based social service assistance • Pre-employment, sports and school physicals Key Financial Highlights The Parker Family Health Center depends on a generous community for financial support. All medical care is provided free of charge, and the clinic, which receives no insurance or other reimbursement, relies entirely on philanthropic grants and donations. • Overhead is low: 90 percent of donations fund the direct delivery of health care. • Volunteers, who donate 10,000 hours a year to help county residents, keep Parker cost-effective. The average cost of a patient visit is under $100, compared with much higher costs in emergency rooms. • Donated goods and volunteer services, valued at $2 million a year, significantly leverage financial support for the clinic budget. Parker and the Affordable Care Act When the Center was founded, as noted earlier, a high percentage of local residents had no health insurance and little medical access. While many Parker patients can now qualify for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, others cannot, and issues of access remain. Health reform will not reach all individuals, as reported in a recent study by the Urban Institute that estimated 681,000 New Jersey residents remaining uninsured under the Affordable Care Act. The Parker clinic is actively engaged in helping patients “graduate” to insurance whenever possible and assisting them with the transition to other providers. At the same time, the clinic is committed to maintaining continuity of care for vulnerable patients, many with multiple chronic conditions, who cannot buy insurance or afford the required medical cost-sharing for the high level of care they need to maintain their health.