November 30, 2009
Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center HIV Program a 2009 New York State Quality of Care Achievement in Quality Improvement Award winner!
Newburgh. On behalf of the AIDS Institute's New York State Quality of Care Program, congratulations to the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center's HIV Quality Program, which has been selected as a 2009 New York State Quality of Care Achievement in Quality Improvement Award winner! Greater Hudson Valley's selection for this award is based upon the work done by GHVFHC on developing and implementing a Health Literacy Screening plan as well as the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center's ongoing commitment to the Community Health Center Learning Network, An awards ceremony will be held at the next New York State Advisory Committee Meeting, which takes place on December 10.
Daniel R. Belanger, LMSW
New York State HIV Quality Program Director
New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute
By Barbara Bedell
Times Herald-Record
Posted: November 22, 2009 - 2:00 AM
Pillars of the Community benefit a big success
The 10th annual Pillars of the Community Awards Gala recently at Anthony's Pier 9 in New Windsor was a successful benefit for the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center Inc. in Newburgh.
At a time when economic woes seem to be all we read and hear about, it is good to know that a nonprofit that serves 17,000 patients a year is the focus of a well-attended party. It was announced early in the evening that attendance was up 10 percent over last year, sponsors were up by 30 percent, and profits appear to be a little more than last year's, although money is still coming in. "It's where we want to be," said Linda Muller, M.S., president and CEO, the center's biggest cheerleader.
It was reason to applaud, and that's just what the crowd of 400 did enthusiastically. Just about everyone present was familiar with the nonprofit and looking forward to the opening of the new facility at 147-201 Lake St. in Newburgh early next year.
But on this occasion it was party time.
Joe and Mary Bonura, owners of the catering facility, their son, Mike, and daughter-in-law, Jen, were the hosts as they've been each year. As Gold Sponsors, as soon as a date is set for the annual party, they get involved with the planning as though it is a banquet for royalty. The fancy and filling gourmet meal was preceded by a sumptuous social hour with choice hors d'oeuvres, dramatic ice sculptures, and special appointments. Many partygoers consider it one of the region's best social events.
A highlight continues to be giving Pillars of the Community Awards to individuals and a business. This year's honorees were Col. Charles M. Faro, vice commander of the 105th Airlift Wing; John J. McDermott III, president of 17K Properties; and Elant Inc., a nonprofit established in 1985 in Goshen offering a variety of health-care and housing solutions for older adults and chronically ill patients. The Lifetime Achievement Award was given to me.
Each of the honorees, including Donna G. McAleer, president and CEO of Elant, and Donna Cornell, board chairwoman, were introduced and received a Pillars trophy as well as certificates and proclamations from political leaders and well-wishers.
The exquisite flower arrangements and table centerpieces were a collaboration between Alders Wholesale Flowers in Campbell Hall and A Studio in Flowers in New Windsor, where designer Gina Molloy and her gifted team created magnificent compositions.
The evening was capped with music for dancing by the Bill's Toupee Band.
It was a lovely event that included a silent auction, dozens of raffles and a fat money-making journal chaired by Regina McGrade.
Congratulations to everyone who made it a profitable and fun outing for a good cause.
Linda Muller, right, president and CEO of the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center, is congratulated by Jim Moss during the dedication ceremony of the center's new building in Newburgh.
Times Herald-Record
Posted: October 23, 2009 - 2:00 AM
NEWBURGH — Perhaps the most telling measure of how people feel about the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center is the reaction that president and CEO Linda Muller got when she formally welcomed them to the new building.
She got a standing ovation.
The center's new primary care building, a project 18 years and $14.5 million in the making, will quadruple its space, to 60,000 square feet (including space to expand), up from 14,500 square feet in the facility the center currently rents at 3 Washington Center.
More to the point, it will allow the center to make room for its growing patient population. It treated a record 17,000 patients last year, most of them uninsured, and center officials expect to treat 22,000 patients annually within five to seven years.
The new building represents "respect, dignity and equal access," Muller told the 200 or so people who came out to see center officials dedicate the building as the Kaplan Family Pavilion, in honor of philanthropist William Kaplan, the Kaplan family and the Kaplan Family Charitable Foundations, who made a multimillion-dollar donation to the construction fund.
"Strong foundations are the basis of strong communities; we are standing on that foundation," Muller said. "It will enable us to make sure the community is strong, fit and able to help those in need."
The center's mission is to be the primary care home for patients of different income levels throughout the area, regardless of their ability to pay, a goal Orange County Executive Ed Diana said helps not only the patients, but local hospitals.
"You don't want to overburden the emergency room of St. Luke's (hospital)," he said. "This institution provides that relief."
Construction is set to be complete in mid-January. Officials hope to open in the spring, pending state approval.
clivermore@th-record.com
Times Herald Record
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Barbara Bedell Column
Piggy bank campaign
A year ago Shannon McGrade, 13, pledged to raise $50 for the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center's capital campaign. This month she is thrilled to have exceeded her goal by counting $64 in coins that she deposited in a piggy bank.
"I have asthma and allergies and know that health care is an important cause," said Shannon, whose mother, Regina, is director of development for the center. "I wanted to help build the new building, but I'm not old enough to work or to be a volunteer there. I realized I could help by feeding a piggy bank loose change. Now I feel good that I was able to help."
The capital campaign continues to attract people who want to help but can't make big donations. For information about joining the Piggy Bank Campaign, call Mrs. McGrade at 220-3152 or e-mail her at rmcgrade@ghvfhc.org.
Times Herald Record
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Barbara Bedell Column
Pillars of the Community
The 10th annual Pillars of the Community Awards Gala hosted by the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center will be Nov. 7 at Anthony's Pier 9.
To get the ball rolling, Linda S. Muller, president and CEO, and Regina McGrade, director of development, organized a lunch to introduce the honorees for this year's event. The gathering took place at Christine's at 167 Broadway, an eatery specializing in Southern cuisine that opened in March.
Its owner is James "Jim" Moss, retired publisher of the Times Herald-Record, who is the campaign chairman for the new health center in Newburgh that is expected to open in early 2010. But first, the Pillars Gala needed the official kickoff.
This year's "Pillars" honored for "distinguished service" are Col. Charles M. Faro, vice commander of the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart; John J. McDermott III of 17K Property Group; and Elant Inc. Attending for Elant was Kathy Iozzino, vice president for business development. The Lifetime Achievement Award will be graciously accepted by me.
In the past, the Times Herald-Record has been honored as a "Pillar," as has St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital, McQuade Children's Services, Hospice of Orange and Sullivan, Hudson Valley Imaging, the 105th Airlift Wing and Emergency Service Responders.
The gala has earned a reputation through the years as one of the region's best and most profitable social events for a nonprofit.
Dr. John D'Ambrosio, president of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, and a former "Pillar," will be the event's master of ceremonies.
As the capital campaign chairman, restaurateur Moss has raised several million dollars to construct the new facility. The new building will expand the patient base from its current 17,000 to more than 26,000 patients while adding more needed medical services, said Muller.
"Our new home will allow us to keep true to our mission of providing quality affordable health care to all regardless of their ability to pay, a mission we have been true to for over 43 years," said Muller.
By Christian LivermoreTimes Herald-Record
A doctor, an uninsured businessman, the president of a community health center, the owner of a medium-sized business, a hospital CEO.
All sat around a table one night to hash out what's wrong with health care in this country and just how to fix it.
It was a study in why reforming health care in America is so difficult.
They were all earnest, well-meaning and knew what they were talking about. But you know how, when a boat is taking on water and you bail out one side, the boat tips precariously in the other direction?
That's the problem with fixing health care.
Cutting costs in one place — say, on testing — leads to reduced revenue in another — say, hospital budgets — and the way we currently pay for things makes it hard to fix something without screwing up something else.
One thing everybody seemed to agree on is that the system is broken. In fact, that's one of the biggest barriers to reform.
"The biggest issue I see is what is being proposed as health-care reform is not really health-care reform. It's taking the same system that's broken and trying to spread it across everybody," said Steve Ruwoldt, CEO of Catskill Regional Medical Center in Sullivan County.
A for-profit mentality
Another thing everybody seemed to agree on was that the system was too focused on profits and not enough on patients.
"Health care is based on a for-profit mentality, based on who's in and who's out, and the competing interests of hospitals, for-profits, not-for-profits," said Linda Muller, president and CEO of the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center in Newburgh. "There is no connection between quality outcomes and no integration."
For many reasons, payment now is skewed toward specialty care and expensive testing, the kinds of things that make money. This often leads to a culture of ordering expensive tests that may not be necessary because Medicare and insurance companies don't pay enough for basic care, said Dr. David Schwalb, who has a practice in Ferndale and is an attending physician at Catskill Regional.
Schwalb said he sees "a gross over-utilization" of expensive tests and procedures to bring in income and out of fear of being sued for missing something rather than because it's best for the patient.
"We pay twice as much as any other industrialized country, and the outcomes aren't as good," he said. "The question is why are we paying so much more? Where is that money going? Is it going to outcomes? No. It's going to incomes."
Better would be to focus more on primary care, which can determine who needs more involved testing and who has an uncomplicated condition that requires simple, basic treatment. So any real reform, Schwalb said, would remove the financial incentive for expensive testing; for example, moving care providers to a straight salary rather than a fee-for-service system, and enacting tort reform that would limit malpractice suits.
Another problem is that nobody knows how much anything costs. A medical device manufacturer might bill $30,000 for a titanium back brace, but Schwalb wondered: How much does the brace actually cost to build? That should be how much the patient pays, he said.
Profit vs. patient care
Capping salaries — including their own — and insurance company profits was a big part of the puzzle for the health professionals, to steer more of a patient's premiums toward actual care and less toward profits. But the idea of caps on profits didn't sit well with the businessmen on the panel.
"The ramifications — how many people do insurance companies support? How many people own stock in insurance companies?" said Jim Smith, owner of Campbell Hall-based Advance Testing. "People benefit from the stock of insurance companies. The ramifications are just unbelievable."
Still, Smith agreed reform was necessary. He pays about $380,000 a year to cover about 52 full-time employees. It's hampered the ability for his company to expand.
"It's just the pricing is strangling us," he said. "It's very difficult to grow your company when all of your expenses are going to pay for health care."
Meanwhile, Rich Rossi, a sole proprietor who owns Multimedia Service Center in Walden, can't even afford insurance for himself, much less hire any employees and offer it to them.
"I am really disappointed that if it is greed, greed is dictating whether people will live or die," said Rossi, a cancer survivor who is hoping and praying the disease doesn't recur.
"If you have to shop around for a plan that will cover a condition, or if someone in a cubicle denies you a potentially life-saving treatment, and they can make that snap decision based on your coverage, that's very dismaying and deflating and I don't want to pay for that "» We shouldn't have to live on hope. We should worry about getting better. That is very dangerous and discouraging."
clivermore@th-record.com
July 1st, 2009
National HIV Testing Day in Newburgh
Newburgh - National HIV Testing Day is held each June and is spearheaded by the National Association of People With AIDS (NAPWA). With the national day falling on a Saturday this year, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center held its local Testing Day on Thursday, June 25, 2009.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 56,300 new HIV infections occurred in the United States in 2006. They also estimate that 250,000 of the 1 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States are unaware of their status.
With the motto, "Are you Positive? It’s better to know," many people are getting tested. The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center provided a free community event to encourage the community to take a free HIV test. In addition to free HIV testing, music, food refreshments, poetry reading, raffles and community educational materials were offered.
Throughout the afternoon people from the community stopped by to partake in the activities and get tested. Test counselors use rapid oral swabs, which deliver test results within twenty minutes without needles or a blood draw. If the results are positive, a second test is performed to verify the results. The Family Health Center also provides a variety of services to those who are HIV positive, including support groups, counseling, caseworkers and much more.
Marilyn Morales, an HIV Counselor, states that HIV is no longer being treated as a terminal disease. She emphasized that people diagnosed early can receive appropriate treatment and care. "HIV is now being treated as a chronic illness. It’s no longer a death sentence. People continue to live a full, productive life."
If you would like to receive a free HIV test, Morales says no appointment is necessary. Just come to the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center (3 Washington Center, Newburgh) and ask for the free test.
Taking care of your teeth, on a budget
You might think you can't afford to get it, but you can't afford notto
By Christian Livermore
Times Herald-Record
March 11, 2009 6:00 AM
Dental problems can be serious
The lower the income level, the less dental care people receive. The poorest one-fourth of American school-aged children have 75 percent of all cavities, according to Oral Health America.
In Orange County, 27 percent of Orange County residents had not had a dental visit in the past year, while 17 percent of Sullivan and Ulster residents had not, according to the New York state Department of Health. Fifty-one percent of Orange County adults have had permanent teeth removed, according to the Orange County Community Health Assessment 2005-2010.
Dental health isn't just cosmetic, either. Dental issues can cause serious health problems. An extreme example is Deamonte Driver, a 12-year-old Maryland boy who died from an infected tooth in 2007. He was uninsured and couldn't get treatment until the infection spread to his brain. Doctors twice performed brain surgery, but it was too late.
But less extreme health problems are manifold.
"Poor dental care affects self-esteem, it affects nutrition — if you can't chew, you can't eat, and a lot of healthier foods require you to have functioning teeth — and there is some correlation with cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Jean Hudson, Orange County health commissioner.
Many of those without dental insurance go without care until problems become acute, then wind up in hospital emergency rooms.
About 500 patients a year show up at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital's ER with dental issues. Most are uninsured or on Medicaid and have challenges accessing regular dental care, said hospital spokesperson Judi Stokes. Orange Regional Medical Center had 475 Medicaid and uninsured patients in its ER last year, said hospital spokesman Rob Lee.
Wherever you go, just go
But there are options.
Although many dentists don't accept Medicaid because the reimbursements are low and the paperwork is voluminous, some do, and some local health departments keep lists.
One dentist who does accept it is Paul Duggal in Middletown. Medicaid pays between 50 percent and 60 percent of what most other insurances pay, but "a lot of people can't afford to pay in the economy today," Duggal said.
"There is a lack of dentists who are offering this to the general public, which is not right," he said. "If we all stopped taking Medicaid patients, where do these people go?"
For many of the Medicaid patients who come to Duggal's office, it's their first dental visit in years, or even ever, and it shows in decay.
Medicaid covers basic services such as X-rays, exams, cleanings and fillings, but "nothing fancy," such as most root canals, Duggal said, so it's important to get basic care and catch problems before they get worse.
The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center treats between 3,000 and 4,000 dental patients, mostly on Medicaid or uninsured.
"I think that's a function of there just not being a lot of places out there where people can go if they don't have a gold card," spokesman Ken Mackintosh said.
People also can get basic care at SUNY Orange's dental clinic, where dental students offer cleanings and other basics for small fees if you have a little time to spend waiting.
"It's not a normal in-and-out trip like it is at your dentist," said SUNY Orange spokesman Mike Albright. "These are students. Their work is supervised every step of the way, and their work is checked. But we hope that at the end of the day it's a very good dental visit.
"
The bottom line is wherever you go, just go.
"It's as much a real enforcement of the educational process," Hudson said, "and trying to persuade people that prevention's better than cure."
clivermore@th-record.com
Where to go for help
For information on places to get dental care, call the Orange County Health Department at 291-2332.
Dental care for Medicaid patients and the uninsured can be accessed at the following location in Newburgh
• Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center, 100 Broadway
569-8412
Patients, providers agree: Health care must be affordable
By Christian Livermore
Times Herald-Record
Posted: February 27, 2009 - 2:00 AM
Armando Rivera has been having chest pains for three months, but hasn't seen a doctor. His job as a forklift operator at Concrete Stone and Tile in New Jersey does not offer health insurance, and between rent and other expenses, there is no money left for doctors for him or his family.
"Every night, when they are sleeping, I cry because I worry," Rivera said, his brown eyes going dewy as he gazed down at his 18-month-old son, Nery. "I don't know what will happen next day. I (am) scared every night. Not for me. For my family."
Rivera, 32, and his wife, Alejandra Huerta, 29, jumped when they heard Orange Regional Medical Center staff would be at Middletown Community Health Center, offering free cardiovascular checks.
Rivera said affordable health insurance, the kind President Obama included as part of the budget he proposed Thursday, would be a godsend.
Debra Brock, a registered nurse at Orange Regional, sees a lot of patients in Rivera's situation.
"At times people come in crying," she said. "They don't even have the money for the medications they need."
More details of the president's health-care plan will be out in the coming weeks, but the goal is clear: universal health care.
It is desperately needed, said Linda Muller, president and CEO of The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center in Newburgh, where the percentage of uninsured patients, which usually fluctuates between 11 percent and 30 percent, has been more than 50 percent for the past two months.
Conseco Aracale, 28, was there Thursday to see a gynecologist for the first time in four years. She was laid off from her factory job four months ago, but didn't have insurance even when she was working.
Daisy Romero, 18, and five months pregnant, was there for a prenatal visit. Her husband's job in construction also does not offer health insurance.
Health care, Muller said, has strayed from its calling to care for patients and instead become a way to make money. Left out in the cold are patients like Rivera and the other 45.7 million people the U.S. Census Bureau counts among the uninsured. Whatever the plan, Muller said it should do several things: focus on preventive care, agree on a cost so everybody is paid fairly, and make it nonprofit.
"If I had the president on the phone, I would tell him to take the profit out of health care," Muller said.
"Nobody should be making money off the ill. Period."
clivermore@th-record.com
Back to the little black bag
Center aims for one-stop health care
A portion of the 39,000-square-foot, $14.5 million medical facility will be dedicated to expanding the center’s sub-specialty services. “Our goal is to go back to the doctor with the little black bag,” says Linda Muller, the center’s president and CEO.
By Christian Livermore
Times Herald-Record
October 12, 2008 6:00 AM
NEWBURGH — When she came on board as president and CEO of Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center in 1991, Linda Muller decided the center needed a new building.
Some 17 years later, it's about to get one.
The final details on commitment letters for long- and short-term funding are being wrapped up, and closing on a construction loan should take place in a few weeks to help the center build a 39,000-square-foot, $14.5 million building center officials are aiming to make the comprehensive medical home for people throughout the area.
"In the early 1900s, we had the doctor with a little black bag; he knew the mom, he knew the kids. Then we screwed it up, we fragmented care," Muller said. "Our goal is to go back to the doctor with the little black bag."
The center is borrowing more than $10 million to pay for the project, and hopes to repay much of it through its capital fundraising campaign. The building will go up across the street from the center's administrative headquarters on Lake Street. It will replace the 14,500-square-foot facility the center currently rents at 3 Washington Center.
Center officials hope to begin construction before the snow flies — loan closings, state approval and building permits allowing.
One-stop shopping
A portion of the building will be dedicated to expanding the center's sub-specialty services, including endocrinology, allergy and cardiology, and hopefully adding gastroenterology and other sub-specialties. It also will hopefully include a lab, pharmacy and radiology with X-ray, ultrasound and sonogram services to make it easier for people who have trouble getting to disparate locations.
City of Newburgh Mayor Nicholas Valentine is behind the plan "100 percent."
"The services they provide are wonderful," he said. "It's an important thing for them to stay in the city, so I was glad they did."
He also hopes the construction of a shiny new building will spur revitalization in the neighborhood.
"It's just one more thing that is a plus to the city when you have that much of an infusion of economic development," he said.
Growth for need's sake
The center hit a record in patients this year — close to 17,000 — and it is on track to treat 22,000 patients in five years to seven years.
Center officials hope to be a medical home for people of different income levels who are being increasingly squeezed by stagnant wages and rising cost of living.
Nearly 25 percent of mid-Hudson Valley households have a member who has not had continuous health insurance coverage in the past year, and 15 percent have at least one child with a gap in coverage over the same period, according to Many Voices One Valley 2007, a survey by the Dyson Foundation and the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
Nationally, about 45 million people are uninsured, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Putting an emphasis on primary care cuts health care costs by minimizing emergency room visits and expensive specialty care if an untreated minor problem becomes a chronic condition, Muller said. "We put the control of health care back in the hands of doctors and patients," Muller said, "and to do that, we need a place to do it."
clivermore@th-record.com
WWW.HVPRESS.NET
October 8th, 2008
Hudson Valley Press
NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
Montgomery - The Newburgh/Highland Falls Branch of the NAACP celebrated its 75th anniversary during the Annual Freedom Fund Banquet on Saturday, October 4th, at the Spruce Lodge.
As the chapter celebrated its past, it contemplated its future. Rev. Byron Williams, President of the Newburgh/Highland Falls chapter stated: "This is a time to remember those who have come before us. Our local branch’s history is replete with presidents who have served faithfully and untiringly to advance the cause of justice and equality in Newburgh and her surrounding areas."
Williams asked those in attendance to, "give serious thought to the many and several crises which we face as a nation. Inherent within all of them are the continued problems of racism and injustice." Recognizing prejudice and discrimination continues to exist, he challenged everyone to rise to the challenges, renew their dedication to the NAACP and to forge the change necessary in this country for it to live up to the American dream.
"We must continue the struggle that began a century ago, for although times have changed, prejudice, discrimination and racism have not; they have simply taken on new formats and new strategies. They have ‘emerged’ with the times and continue with unprecedented speed and deliberation," Williams stated.
This year’s theme, "Our Legacy: Celebrating the Leadership of Yesterday and Tomorrow," paid tribute to three individuals whose contributions to the community are "a beacon of light": Nancy Colas, Harold Rayford and Rev. William Scafidi.
In addition to honoring community leaders, the NAACP acknowledged two organizations, whose mission and purpose mirrors that of the NAACP and serves the common good of the community. This year the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center and the Liberty Partnerships Program were the selected honorees. "We honor their commitment tonight, for without the foundation that they have laid, we would not be present here tonight," Rev. Williams stated.
The mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. Williams feels the need for the NAACP will exist as long as people exist. "With all the changes and developments in modern society, we have not yet come to the point that we do not need an NAACP."
Rev. Williams encouraged everyone to "take a few moments this evening to reflect upon the distance we have come. Let us leave this place tonight equipped and motivated to forge forward into the tomorrow that awaits us; a tomorrow whose challenges are not greater than its challenged."
Dr. Jonathan Castro in his office at the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center in the City of Newburgh.
Physicians such as Dr. Castro were honored during National Health Center Week, which recognizes health centers and their staffs for their contributions to community care. Times Herald-Record/CHET GORDON
By Christian Livermore
Times Herald-Record
August 10, 2008
NEWBURGH — Dr. Jonathan Castro was studying to be an architect when his mother extracted from him a promise on her deathbed.
That promise changed the course of his life, and the lives of many of the patients he cares for at the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center.
On this first day of National Health Center Week, which pays tribute to health-care centers nationwide, it seems fitting to highlight the contributions of a doctor who provides the kind of care the week is meant to honor.
Payments secondary
When he was 20, Castro's mother, Florita, died of cancer.
As she lay suffering, she made him vow he would abandon his architectural studies and instead become a doctor.
"She made me promise I would take away for people that pain that she felt," said Castro.
Castro, now 38, is fulfilling that pledge at the Family Health Center's Newburgh facility, where he serves double duty as chair of the internal medicine department and as an endocrinologist.
The center provides care for people regardless of their ability to pay. Many of its patients have had spotty medical care before coming to the center, and by the time they walk through its doors, many have developed chronic and sometimes dangerous conditions — among them diabetes, hypertension and heart disease — that complicate their treatment and put them at greater general risk. A diabetic, for instance, is four times more likely to die of a heart attack or stroke.
The financial condition of many patients only makes matters worse.
Some work more than one job and can't get to their doctor's appointments; others must wait to get paid before buying medications; and some simply have trouble understanding their condition and what they must do to get better.
Sometimes, Castro admits, it's depressing. But it's the patients who follow his advice who keep him going.
"I usually thank them," he said. " 'Thank you for making my job count.' "
Costs are lower
Health centers in the United States serve 17 million people, many of them uninsured and many who live in medically underserved areas, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers. Having such "medical homes" to coordinate care improves long-term health and cuts costs, according to the association.
The average annual cost of care at a health center is $515 per patient, 10 times less than the average per capita spending on personal health care, according to the association, and centers save Medicaid roughly 30 percent a year per beneficiary because of lower specialty care referrals, fewer ER visits and hospital admissions.
A rewarding profession
More health centers and less- expensive medications would improve patient care tremendously, Castro said. More staff so that Castro and other doctors could spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients would help, too.
"If, as a provider we could free him up to see more patients, that's our long-term goal," said Family Health Center spokesman Ken Mackintosh.
Still, to Castro, it's all worth it.
"I like the fact that when I go to Wal-Mart, people who can't otherwise get the best care, they know me, and I know them," he said, "and I was able to help them."
County's health is deteriorating, especially among children
"Healthy Orange" campaign has long way to go.
By Christian Livermore
Times Herald-Record
August 01, 2008
NEWBURGH — Once a year, as a requirement of its federal funding, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center must assess the unmet healthcare needs of the community.
It takes the assignment seriously, not just as a bureaucratic step on the funding ladder. As it happened, some 60 business and community leaders thought it was equally important.
They gathered for breakfast recently to swap information, and what they found disturbed them.
The area’s rates of asthma, diabetes and hypertension were all elevated, and many people – and, increasingly, middle-income people – can’t get the care they need because they don’t have health insurance, or even more basically, can’t get a ride to the doctor.
“We continue to be reminded that barriers to care result in no care for many people,” said Family Health Center President and CEO Linda Muller.
Poor nutrition was also a big problem – children getting either not enough calories or too many – so it was decided a better wellness program for children was needed.
“That kind of issue trails a person through his entire life,” Muller said.
Also alarming, the adult smoking rate was higher than that of surrounding counties, and much higher than goals set in the national health objectives publication Healthy People 2010, reported Jean Hudson, commissioner of the Orange County Department of Health.
The national goal for 2010 is a 12 percent adult smoking rate. Orange County’s is 24.3 percent.
Taken together, the anecdotal evidence led virtually everybody to one conclusion, Hudson said.
“The one thing that was mentioned by all parties commonly in what they said was universal access to health care,” she said.
Unhealthy Orange
Poverty rates exceed 25 percent for families with children younger than 18 in Middletown, Newburgh, Monroe and Port Jervis, according to Orange County Community Health Assessment 2005-2010, making it difficult for many families even to afford a doctor’s visit.
Nearly one quarter of mid-Hudson Valley households have a member who has not had continuous health insurance coverage in the past year, while 15 percent have at least one child who has experienced a gap in coverage over the past year, according to Many Voices One Valley 2007, a survey by the Dyson Foundation and the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion.
“The middle class is getting squeezed and getting squeezed, and increasingly have no choice,” Muller said.
Filling unmet needs
The Family Health Center doesn’t just treat low-income people – their patient list straddles the income spectrum – but their mission is to make sure everybody gets the care they need, regardless of their ability to pay.
For John D’Ambrosio, president of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, that’s the biggest unmet need of all – finding ways to provide healthcare for people who can’t afford health insurance.
He cited rough figures indicating the cost of living has gone up 17 percent in the last five years, while the average cost of health insurance has gone up 78 percent.
“What that translates into is more and more people who are going to end up without insurance because they can’t afford it,” he said, “and we’re going to have, more and more, a need for places like the Family Health Center that can take care of their health.”
Health center in charge of grant for second year
By Christian Livermore for the Times Herald Record
July 20, 2008
NEWBURGH — The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center has been chosen for the second year to administer a $23,000 grant for the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation Medical Gap Grant program in Orange and Rockland counties.
The Medical Gap Care Fund was established to help individuals in treatment for breast cancer with financial emergencies.
For more information, or to see if you qualify, county residents can contact Regina McGrade at 220-3152.
National HIV testing Day 2008
Hudson Valley Press
July 2nd, 2008
Newburgh - National HIV Testing Day (NHTD) is an annual campaign produced by the National Association of People with AIDS to encourage at-risk individuals to receive voluntary HIV counseling and testing.
Locally, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center invited the community to get tested. Carolyn Saldana, Director of HIV/AIDS Services at the Family Health Center, organized the event said, "It’s important to raise awareness in the community about AIDS and HIV. People have to take the first step, and get tested."
She points out that knowing your status is important. "Once you know your status, we can focus on keeping you safe."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 180,000 to 280,000 people nationwide are HIV-positive, but are unaware of their status.
"An early diagnosis could mean the difference between life and death," urges Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC). "Those who know their status can get into care and treatment earlier, improving their chances for long term survival. They also can learn how to protect their partners and stop the further spread of the disease."
Testing for HIV remains a vital combatant in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. HIV counseling and testing enables people with HIV to take steps to protect their own health and that of their partners, and helps people who test negative get the information they need to stay uninfected.
One of the goals for the day was to reach out to communities at increased risk of HIV infection, including African-American and Latino populations, both of which are disproportionately affected with HIV when compared to other demographic groups in the United States. Though each represents only approximately 13% of the U.S. population, African-Americans and Latinos account for over 70% of all new HIV cases reported each year to the CDC.
Rates of HIV infection are on the rise among Asian and Pacific Islanders and Native Americans as well. "Social, economic, educational and political disenfranchisement have helped fuel HIV infections in communities of color nationwide," says Ravinia Hayes- Cozier, NMAC’s Director of Government Relations and Public Policy. "Yet unchecked rates of HIV could undermine their very future. We must promote culturally competent and consistent prevention, testing, and treatment messages to those most at risk."
May 8, 2008
Mid-Hudson News.com
Schumer backs legislation to provide adequate dental care for children
WASHINGTON – With 115,000 children in the Hudson Valley lacking dental insurance, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer Wednesday said he would back legislation proposed by Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio that would provide grants to community health centers to expand dental care and offer tax credits to dentists who treat Medicaid, CHIP and uninsured patients.
The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center operates a dental clinic that is taxed to the limit, said spokesman Kenneth Mackintosh.
“Here in Newburgh, the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center has been providing dental care for 14 years and almost from day one, we’ve been at our capacity with a long waiting list for service,” he said. “Any program that will expand access to care for the uninsured and the under insured is both welcome and sorely needed. The consequences of inadequate oral care, poor nutrition, immune deficiency, increased vulnerability to other infectious disease, are very serious.”
Schumer said the kids who need dental care the most – those who live in cities, rural towns and small, underserved communities – “are being left out by a system that is plagued by rising health insurance costs and a limited number of dentists to provide care.”
April 30th, 2008
Methadone program recognized
Newburgh - Last Tuesday New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS) Commissioner Karen Carpenter-Palumbo visited the Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program in Newburgh for a ribbon cutting ceremony.
The methadone clinic is run by the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center. Since 2006 they have been running the Center for Recovery. When St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital said it would be shutting down the methadone clinic, Family Health Center stepped in to ensure there would be no lapse in treatment.
Linda Muller, President and CEO of the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center said adding the methadone clinic meant it could expand their services to treat people through their entire range of health needs.
Carpenter-Palumbo said the methadone clinic is the type of place the state wants to see across New York state’s health care system. The concept is to treat the whole person.
That concept was originally mandated by former Governor Eliot Spitzer and continues with current Governor David Paterson. The mandate was to integrate services into a cohesive system whereby the whole person could be treated.
Carpenter-Palumbo said that’s important because too many patients are asked to go from one service provider to another. A network like the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center tries to provide as many services within its network to better treat the whole person.
When the center opened in January, there were 204 patients. It now has about 240 patients and is licensed for 300. Carpenter-Palumbo said, "We know that there are over 2.5 million people with an addiction. Last year over 9,000 were served right here in this region."
That’s why Karen Carpenter-Palumbo attended the ribbon cutting on Tuesday, saying the facility is greatly needed. She was joined at 3 Commercial Place by local service providers, politicians and government employees. They all see the need for the service.
Muller says chemical dependency is no longer limited to drug addicts. More and more people are getting hooked on pre scri ption pain killers after surgery.
"When you look at chemical dependency, any one of us is a day away from being there. This is not just a disease that happens in the bowels of an inner city," Muller said.
Methadone clinic fits well in health network
By Doyle Murphy
Times Herald-Record
April 23, 2008
CITY OF NEWBURGH — Once set to close, a Newburgh methadone clinic has become the type of place the state wants to see across New York's health-care system.
What makes it interesting isn't so much the clinic itself but its place in a larger network of doctors, dentists, mental health workers and therapists.
The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center took over the clinic in January after St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital announced plans to shut it down. The nonprofit also had run the Center for Recovery since 2006. Adding the methadone clinic meant it could fill a piece missing in its plan to treat people through their entire range of health needs.
It's a concept of treating the whole person that Karen Carpenter-Palumbo said has become a priority in New York. Carpenter-Palumbo is the commissioner of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Gov. David Paterson mandated that state departments such as Carpenter-Palumbo's begin integrating services into a cohesive system.
That means more networks like the one Greater Hudson Valley now operates at 83 Commercial Place. About 70 service providers, government employees and politicians gathered there yesterday to celebrate its opening.
Chris Loscher, director of the Center of Recovery, said the methadone clinic opened in January with 204 patients and now has about 240. It's licensed for 300. Statewide, about 1 in 7 New Yorkers deals with some sort of addiction.
Methadone is used to help break a dependency on opiates. That used to be almost exclusively heroin addiction, Loscher said, but increasingly includes the patient who gets hooked on prescription pain killers after surgery.
Patients bring with them a variety of medical concerns along with the addiction, Loscher said. A person in the middle of a daily heroin habit might not care about regular dental visits but, as they begin to recover, things like healthy teeth and jobs start to seem more important, Loscher said.
Greater Hudson Valley tries to provide all those services within its network.
That's important, Carpenter-Palumbo said, because too many patients are asked to bounce from one service to another in a disjointed system.
"What happens then is, we lose the person," she said.
Cheers
April 28, 2008
To the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center for taking over the Newburgh methadone clinic and helping make sure its patients also get a chance to take part in the larger network of doctors, dentists, mental health workers and therapists. Treating the whole person is a goal of the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services.
PRESS ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FOR MORE INFORMATION:
April 17, 2008 Regina McGrade
Director OF Development
845.220.3152
845.667.4243 cell
OASAS COMMISSIONER TO RECOGNIZE
The GREATER HUDSON VALLEY FAMILY HEALTH CENTER’S
METHADONE MAINTENANCE TREATMENT PROGRAM
Newburgh, NY. Community and governmental leaders will join many of the region’s health and human service representatives this Tuesday, April 22, 2008 in recognition of the opening of the Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center’s Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program.
Karen Carpenter-Palumbo, Commissioner, New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, will be keynote speaker addressing New York State priorities for substance abuse treatment and new policies and principles for providing these critically needed services. Commissioner Carpenter-Palumbo will be available to speak with the media.
Location: The Center for Recovery
3 Commercial Place, Newburgh, NY
Time: 12:00 – 3:00 PM
Lunch and refreshments served at 12:00
Program to begin at 1:00 PM
Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Directions: New York State Thruway (Rte. 87) to Exit 17. Left onto Rte 17K left East/ 17k turns into Broadway into Newburgh to 9W South. Right onto Route 9W South to Dickson Street. Turn RIGHT onto Dickson Street to Commercial Place. Left onto Commercial Place. The Center for Recovery will be on the left.
By Barbara Bedell
Times Herald-Record
April 14, 2008
The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center Inc. will celebrate the opening of its Methadone Maintenance Treatment Program from noon-3 p.m. April 22 at 3 Commercial Place in Newburgh. The open house will welcome Karen Carpenter-Palumbo at 1 p.m. as guest speaker. She is the commissioner for the state Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. For information call 220-2146, ext Zero (0).
Times Herald-Record
February 10, 2008
NEWBURGH — After several years of uncertainty when the county's only methadone clinic was closing without a clear replacement, services were transferred from one facility to another without a gap in treatment.
The Greater Hudson Valley Family Health Center opened its methadone treatment center Jan. 27, one day after St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital closed it.
St. Luke's announced in 2005 that it was discontinuing the methadone and substance abuse treatment programs it had been running, leaving a gap in some services and officials scrambling to find somebody to fill it.
Three months later, Family Health Center said it would be willing to take over the programs.
Several years and a bunch of regulatory hurdles later, it has.
"When it became clear that St. Luke's would no longer be operating the program, we felt it was critical that a provider step up to keep the program going, because the need for this program in the county is huge," said Family Health Center President and CEO Linda Muller. "Because of what we do as a primary care provider, we felt we would be able to treat people not only for existing substance abuse problems, but also provide comprehensive medical care that could help them even more to become fully healthy and productive people once again."
Clients come in first thing in the morning — usually 6:30 — to get their daily dose. A small percentage judged to be further along in their recovery can get a few days' or a week's supply. The center also provides counseling and medical care for clients.
Right now, the center treats 204 people, and should be certified for up to 300 soon, but the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, which provides oversight, licensing and much of the center's funding, found that 1,098 people in Orange County actually need treatment, said Barry Hawkins, director of chemical dependency services for the Orange County Department of Mental Health.
The next nearest treatment center is in Rockland County. Another in Kingston is more than an hour's drive for most people.
Methadone treatment
Methadone is a synthetic drug used to quell addictions to heroin, OxyContin and other pain medications. It mimics some of the effects of the drugs without the high.
Study after study has shown that methadone treatment carries a host of positive effects, notably reducing crime, especially burglary, lowering health-care costs and improving birth weights among infants of pregnant women.
The earliest support for methadone treatment came from the Nixon administration as a way to reduce crime.
One of the first studies of the results of methadone treatment, based on New York City police department data from 1971 to 1973, found that as about 19,900 addicts entered treatment, about 77,000 fewer drug-related arrests were made for burglary and grand larceny, said Mark W. Parrino, president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence Inc.
"This is what really sprung past and said, you know what, regardless of the way we feel about people who use methadone, we need to expand treatment," Parrino said.
Methadone clinics nationwide have often drawn opposition.
People argue that a treatment center will drive down property values; they say the clients are troublemakers who loiter and even deal drugs outside clinics, and object especially to people coming in from other communities for treatment.
Several methadone clinics have led to lawsuits from neighbors and in some cases, attempts by legislators to give local governments more power to stop them from moving in.
The Newburgh treatment center does not prompt complaints, said Lt. Charles Broe of the City of Newburgh Police Department.
A recent spate of methadone overdoses has led many to decry its use.
Parrino said most of those deaths were "outside of the clinic system."
"They were generally driven by prescribing large quantities of the medication without proper oversight," he said.
Parrino doubts that more than 8 to 10 percent of people in methadone treatment get more than a daily supply of the drug.
Combatting perceptions
The boogeyman image of the methadone client is the heroin-thin, chronically unemployed, turn-on-tune-in-drop-out scarecrow who lives for their daily fix.
According to advocates, many of these perceptions are just plain wrong.
"When we started learning more about the kinds of people who were affected by addiction to opioids, drugs like Vicodin, and OxyContin, and heroin, too, we realized that the clients of the methadone program come from every walk of life, every social strata," Muller said. "There are unemployed folks, professional folks, kids and grandmas, too; people who are struggling to put their lives back together after dealing with all of the really difficult consequences of having these drugs take over your life."
An untreated addict costs about $50,000 a year in theft, security, health care and other costs, Parrino said. Locking up an addict costs about $25,000 per person per year. Treating an addict costs about $5,500 a year.
"So the question for the culture," Parrino said, "is where do you want to spend your money?"
clivermore@th-record.com
