National Cover the Uninsured Week

This is “National Cover the Uninsured Week”, and I am pleased to inform residents about services provided by the 4C’s Clinics, improvements we have recently made, and future plans.

For over 35 years the 4C’s clinics have served citizens of Galveston County. The clinics in Texas City and Galveston are federally-qualified community health centers.  That is, they operate under federal guidelines and are overseen by a Governing Board whose majority members are clinic patients. As adopted by the Board, we envision “healthy people in healthy communities with local access to care,” and we are working towards that vision by providing “access to quality ambulatory healthcare to uninsured and underinsured Galveston County residents.”

 While the 4C’s clinics are available to any Galveston county resident, the majority 4C’s of patients are designated as “self pay” or uninsured.  There is a common misperception that these are “free clinics.”  While the services are not “free,” they are indeed discounted using a sliding scale based on a financial screening.  Some uninsured patients may be responsible for 100% of cost; many are uninsured and billed the minimum for a visit; and many are provided services even when unable to pay anything.  The balances of discounted or unpaid costs are generally covered by federal dollars and significant matching support from the county. 

The national challenge of providing care to the uninsured is a growing problem, especially in Texas, and Galveston County is not excluded.  Over the past few years our clinics have noted an increased demand for services with level resources.  In 2004 the 4C’s Governing Board adopted a strategic health plan with eight priorities; one being “to improve access to care.”  The Board and Health District staffs have been measurably successful in improving patient satisfaction and clinic productivity.  A few improvements include a Nurseline to assist 4C’s patients, open access for parents with sick kids, tracking referrals to assure continuity of care, partnering with UTMB and Mainland Center to jointly fund a case manager to facilitate emergency room referrals, and much more.  A report of our improvements can be found in the 2004 Annual Progress Report at www.gchd.org.

While efforts are ongoing, future improvements will maximize our ability to serve residents of the county.  Recently the clinics began an extensive “reengineering” project to increase patient satisfaction and decrease waiting times in the clinics.  A future goal includes increasing case management services for patients who benefit from coordinated care.

Challenges include an increasing number of new patients needing and seeking 4C’s clinic services and an increasing need for coordinating care of patients discharged from the hospital, ER, or specialty referrals.  Based on trends, we anticipate a point when 4C’s clinics will reach their limit and will require exploring solutions with local partners and officials.  Until that time, we will continue to assure we are doing the best we can in our role and mission to be an outpatient medical home for Galveston County residents. 

For those who haven’t visited in a long time, come back and visit us again!  We are here for you!

Printed in the Galveston Daily News 05/03/05

For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston County Health District
(409) 938-2211
kkoopman@gchd.org