By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Navigating health care systems can be a scary process, especially for those people who lack adequate insurance. But local residents who have put off medical care for fear of another bill they can’t afford will not be turned away at the Wood County Community Health and Wellness Center.
“We are looking at the whole person” and that includes offering services on a sliding fee scale so they are affordable to all, said Diane Krill, director of the center located inside the Wood County Health District at 1840 E. Gypsy Lane Road, Bowling Green.
“No one is turned away for services,” Krill said.
The health and wellness center provides primary care for all ages, with Dr. Steve Dood as chief medical officer and Katie Barricklow as family nurse practitioner.
“It’s care for infants through everyone,” Krill said.
The center offers STD testing, women’s health care, senior health care, behavior health services and social work services. An in-house pharmacy allows patients to get their prescriptions filled on site.
“They can get all of their needs met,” Krill said.
The center is a lifesaver for many patients who have put off dealing with health issues, said Rhonda Stoner, social worker at the site.
“They’ve let their health go for so long, by the time they come to us there are a lot of health needs,” Stoner said of some patients.
“We see the smiles on their faces now. Before they thought there was no hope,” she said. “We see the healing in that old wound.”
The center focuses on treating the entire person, Krill explained. So in addition to tending to physical needs, the center also has a behavior health specialist to help with mental health needs such as anxiety, depression and everyday life struggles.
“Evidence shows that physical and mental needs are really integrated,” Krill said. “We do feel behavioral medicine is important.”
The services are “patient-centered,” and based on community health assessments of local needs.
With its expanded services, the health and wellness center has seen an increase in patients. Last year, the center saw more than 1,000 patients, and so far this year 344 new patients have come in for care.
“We’re always accepting new patients,” Krill said. And anyone is welcome – people with high co-pays, people with bad coverage, low income or high income, people from Wood County or from elsewhere.
The goal is to reach people who aren’t being helped elsewhere. “I think we are,” Krill said.
The next goal is to offer dental care. With the help of grant funding, the health center plans to expand and add five dental chairs, possibly by the end of next year.
“Dental care has always come up as a need here,” Krill said. More than 60 percent of the current health center patients have not seen a dentist in the past six months, she added. “It just makes sense for us to add this service.”
Unlike most medical services, the health and wellness center has its own social worker who helps patients navigate health care coverage.
“We help individuals sign up for the marketplace,” Krill said. “That seems to be scary for people.”
As a federally qualified health center, patients can be presumed eligible on the spot, “Which gives them temporary Medicaid,” Stoner explained.
Then Stoner can help patients apply for full Medicaid, put them on a sliding fee scale, or set up payment plans if they need care from specialists.
As a social worker, Stoner also encourages patients to do follow up care and any necessary testing either at the health center or with specialists.
“We don’t give up on them,” after the initial appointment, she said. “We encourage compliance” with health care recommendations.
“We increase their level of participation in their own health care. We want them to be the driver in their own health care,” Stoner said.
For many, it’s the first time dealing with health problem using a holistic approach.
“Our doors are open for all of Wood County and surrounding areas that need health care,” Stoner said.
To help make sure the health and wellness center is meeting the needs of patients, more than half of the 11 members on the board governing the program must be patients themselves.
“It’s really good to have them at the table making decisions with us,” Krill said.
The Wood County Community Health and Wellness Center can be reached at 419-354-9049.
