By Tim Charles and Monica Meeker / Guest Column
I’d like you to meet Monica Meeker, M.D., a physician at MercyCare Health Partners Clinic. As a Catholic health care organization, the Sisters of Mercy’s charge to care for the sick and poor resonate through Mercy’s mission, and the work of Health Partners is an exceptional answer to that call.
Below, Dr. Meeker explains the hurdles and triumphs of this initiative:
MercyCare Health Partners is a unique clinic, made up of medical providers, nursing staff, a social worker, two mental health counselors and two pharmacy residents. Together, we offer team-based care for approximately 350 adults in the greater Cedar Rapids community.
A majority of our patients have Medicaid or are dually insured with Medicare and Medicaid. They come to us primarily through referrals from the emergency room, hospital social work, behavioral inpatient unit and the city’s free clinics. They are who Catholic health care call the “sick poor” – those with social challenges that impact their ability to seek out consistent medical care.
On June 20, we celebrated one year of service for these patients. I worked in the weeks prior to the clinic’s opening to create our charter, which includes the following mission statement: “Create a medical home for patients who have not succeeded in traditional family medicine settings and those who do not currently have a primary care physician. This population may include patients who have complex issues, including mental health diagnoses, substance use, pain issues, social challenges, along with having medical issues such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, COPD, congestive heart failure, or others.”
Although this does encompass what we are working to do, I was naïve in my estimation of what our patient’s challenges would be.
Our biggest goal – and challenge – is becoming a trusted “medical home” for our patients. The medical home concept is simple: build a consistent relationship with a family health provider. Building a medical home means doctors can communicate easily with access to comprehensive health histories. Many of our patients, however, have never had a family doctor. They’re used to visiting the emergency department for their routine care or only seek care when they’re sick enough to be hospitalized.
Many of them struggle with transportation, homelessness or access to food, making their health care a low priority. Many struggle with mental illness or substance abuse, and many more have experienced trauma, and as a result, have a hard time developing a trusting relationship.
For others, Medicaid is the first health insurance they’ve ever had. They don’t know about routine care like annual physicals. They don’t understand how to manage a new diagnosis. Because they never had insurance to help them pay for care, they simply didn’t seek it out.
These hurdles are hard to overcome.
Most of our patients, over time, have developed an appreciation for being able to access care through our clinic and are beginning to understand the importance of it. They are reclaiming their health as a priority.
In the past year, we have completed 2,200 visits with the people who need us most. Thanks to our team of physical and mental health providers, patients who have traditionally visited the emergency room for routine care have dramatically reduced that tendency. One patient in particular went from 50 emergency visits in six months to 16 because of access to care at Health Partners.
With the help of our clinic’s social workers, we have successfully connected patients to community resources that help with their social challenges. Our patients have improved their ability to manage their illnesses and struggles — some have been cured of hepatitis C, others have escaped domestic violence, more have entered into periods of sobriety. They have leaped forward into healthier lives, giving them a chance to be players in this wonderful community. I believe this is a result of access to care at Health Partners.
While our clinic has challenges, and our patients have many hurdles to overcome, as partners, we are making progress in providing medical services for valuable members of this community.
Tim Charles is president and CEO of Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.
Monica Meeker, M.D., is a physician at MercyCare Health Partners Clinic.
