OUTREACH COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS INC
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Mission Statement
Outreach Community Health Centers (OCHC) is one of five Federally Qualified Health Centers in Milwaukee, but we are the only one to carry a special mandate to reach out to homeless individuals and families. We are a critical part of the healthcare safety net in Milwaukee County, and have been since 1982. OCHC serves those who are insured and uninsured, homeless or housed, able or unable to meet co-pay requirements for care. To that end, OCHC has developed a robust continuum of services that extends from Street Outreach all the way to Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families. Healthcare, mental and behavioral health services, case management and benefit assistance are all available under the Outreach Community Center umbrella, as are a number of specialized programs and services for the homeless and/or chronically mentally ill. The organization's mission is to promote health and wellness among everyone we serve, and to seek health justice for people who have been denied.
About This Cause
Outreach went to extraordinary lengths to continue to meet the needs of those we serve during a pandemic, and invested over $200,000 to gain telehealth service capacity in every program we operate by June of that first year. Many people avoided seeking care for routine health needs, so most healthcare providers experienced a steep decline in earned revenues. When the federal government offered funding to cover those losses, Outreach decided to procure a mobile health unit so that, when patients couldn't or wouldn't come to us, we could go to them. Since then, we have seen a substantial increase in the percentage of patients who lack access to health insurance, as lost jobs and wages cause some patients to lose employer-provided coverage and others can no longer afford to pay their ACA Marketplace premiums. At this time, Outreach needs unrestricted operating support that is as flexible and dynamic as we are called on to be during this unprecedented time. We need resources that can be directed as needed as new challenges and unforeseen circumstances arise. Outreach Community Health Centers serves the most disadvantaged people and neighborhoods in all of Milwaukee County. While the estimated percentage of the uninsured population in Milwaukee County is 9%, the percentage of patients served by OCHC lacking insurance at first engagement last year was 33%. Residents of the five poorest zip codes in Milwaukee County make up 40% of OCHC’s service population, and the zip code of our primary service site, 53206, has a median household income that is 48.7% lower than that of the county as a whole. Over 50% of all people living in this zip code live below the poverty line, making it the poorest zip code in the region. Over the last three years, an average of 10,525 people annually from 35 different zip codes sought services under our umbrella. Programs include: Current Programs and Services • Street Outreach and PATH have been the foundation for OCHC’s homeless services delivery system since the beginning and remain so today. Our Street Outreach team is the only one in Milwaukee charged to seek out and serve the general homeless population while PATH has a specialized approach to outreaching to homeless persons with acute or chronic mental illness. • Our Rapid Re-Housing for Homeless Families offers 45 subsidized units for up to 18 months, and is one of only two programs serving homeless families in the Milwaukee region. • OCHC operates two clinics, a Primary Care Clinic, and a Family Care Clinic, at its main service site at 210 West Capitol Drive in Milwaukee. OCHC also still supports healthcare services for the homeless at St. Ben’s, Salvation Army, and Ascension’s Seton Dental Clinic. • Special projects under OCHC’s health services umbrella include the Prenatal and Child Health Care Coordination Program, which provides services and supports to promote healthy birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality. An Emergency Department Care Coordination program follows up on referrals from area emergency rooms of patients who lack a primary health provider, while a Specialty Access for the Uninsured program helps uninsured patients in need gain access to specialized health services. • OCHC offers patients at our 210 location an on-site Pharmacy that enables the poor and/or uninsured to access critical medications at substantially reduced costs. • OCHC’s state-certified Behavioral Health Clinic delivers evidence-based outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment. Individual, family and group services are available. An Intensive Outpatient Substance Use Treatment program was added to the service mix in 2018. • The Community Support Program (CSP) provides 24/7 wraparound mental health, case management and other supportive services to persons whose behavioral health needs are so severe as to require on-going and immediate support to avoid hospitalization or institutionalization. • The Targeted Case Management (TCM) program offers slightly less intensive case management to persons with mental illness, clients whose needs are somewhat less acute than those served in CSP. • The Crisis Case Management (CCM) program offers short-term care management to people experiencing acute mental or emotional distress while while they are evaluated for placement into longer-term supports. • Coordinated Community Services (CCS) provides care coordination and support to any Medicaid-eligible Milwaukee County resident with a diagnosed behavioral health condition who is motivated to seek services. • A Benefits Division employs Certified Affordable Care Act Counselors to help clients gain access to insurance, while other SOAR-trained Specialists help those with disabling mental health conditions make application for income support. • Payee Services offered through OCHC’s Finance Department serve as the repository for Payees’ funds and assume responsibility for the payment of rent and other bills, helping to ensure that clients are able to make best use of their available income.