Melissa Garcia, Process Improvement Coordinator for Community Health Centers in Yavapai, discussed primary care needs in her community at the Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning Brown Bag Program on Friday, April 14.
CHCY’s mission is to contribute to the welfare of the people of Yavapai County by providing quality integrated primary health care services. There are three locations in Cottonwood, Prescott and Prescott Valley.
CHCY started as a free clinic in 1993 after identifying a great need for free primary care services. Born out of a volunteer-led grassroots effort using dispensary space donated by Yavapai County to meet local medical needs. The Cottonwood store opened in his 2011.
Garcia said he constantly hears residents express concerns about access to primary care in Cottonwood, reassured him that “we have the capacity to meet their needs.” As a federally accredited community health center, CHCY services include medical, dental care, prenatal care, behavioral health, WellWoman HealthCheck, and reproductive health and care coordination, including medication assistance and insurance coverage. CHCY applies the concept of “patient-centered home care” to meet the multiple needs of the entire patient population.
Garcia is trying to maintain constant availability so that established patients can get same-day appointments, as opposed to many primary care facilities, which take months to get an appointment even for established patients. She also noted that, like most major insurance plans, they accept anyone as a patient.
“We don’t deny service to anyone. That’s part of being a community health center,” Garcia said.
CHCY’s sliding fee program starts at $35, and Garcia emphasized that no one will be denied access to medical services regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. They can adjust rates for income-eligible, uninsured or underinsured patients, and for insured patients with high deductibles or copayments.
“We’re going to reduce barriers and make sure everyone gets care,” Garcia said.
CHCY is Yavapai County’s only provider of the WellWoman HealthCheck program, known nationally as the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. This allows women to have mammograms, clinical breast exams and Pap tests.
CHCY will serve 12,000 individual patients in 2022 and has nine primary care providers, many of whom have been with CHCY since its inception.
Garcia also shared profiles of each staff member at the Cottonwood facility. These include family nurse Amber Balm, who recently received the Arizona Community Star Award for Excellence in Rural Healthcare, and pediatrician Calla Block. Garcia emphasized the importance of providing same-day care to sick children and the critical role that blocks play in keeping children out of hospitals by ensuring they are seen at CHCY. emphasized that
Mirandine Fitchet, another nurse practitioner, is fluent in four languages, which Garcia said is an added advantage for patients.
CHCY also provides dental care. “I would die with a drill in my hand,” said staff dentist Paul Burlinger.
Later this year, CHCY will break ground for a new pharmacy in Prescott to serve the entire Yavapai County.
