2014
Annual
Report
The Wyoming Primary Care Association
is proud to celebrate 20 years!
As we mark our 20th anniversary, I want
to acknowledge the individuals and organizations who have been integral to
our success. Together our staff, board
members, experts in rural health and our
local, state and national partner organizations have forwarded the mission of
building a healthier Wyoming. Our success is your success.
This is a good time to look back at the first 20 years while
preparing for a great future. In 1995, the Wyoming Primary
Care Association became a stand-alone organization with
the mission of ensuring access to primary care for the underserved. Previously, Wyoming Health Centers, also known as
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), were served by
Colorado. To learn more about how we meet our mission,
please see Page 4.
The first Health Centers in Wyoming served the homeless and
migrant farm workers. These original Health Centers still operate today. The 12th Street Clinic in Casper, Community Action’s Health Care for the Homeless in Cheyenne and the Migrant Health Program in Powell strive to improve the lives of
their patients.
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In 2000, the Community Health Center of Central Wyoming opened in Casper. Since then, three more health centers have been funded to serve their communities: HealthWorks (formerly Cheyenne Health and Wellness) opened
2005 in Cheyenne; Fremont Community Health Center
(formerly Wind River Health Systems) opened 2007 in
Riverton; and Sweetwater Community Health Center
opened April of 2014 in Rock Springs.
This past August, the Education Health Center of Wyoming,
(University of Wyoming Family Practice Residency Programs) was designated as an FQHC Look-Alike. This means
that they must meet all of the program requirements of an
FQHC, but do not get federal funding. Instead, they receive
enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements. In addition, there are satellite clinics in Dubois and Evanston. To
learn more about these individual Community Health Centers, see Page 11.
We have grown from supporting three health centers in
1995 to nine today. However, there remains vast areas of
Wyoming where people still lack access to quality, affordable healthcare. Our board and staff are focused on meeting the needs of people in those underserved areas in Wyoming.
There is a lot more to accomplish to
meet our mission. We look forward to
working with you in the future.
Sincerely,
Jan Cartwright
Executive Director
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Table of Contents
About the WYPCA…………………..……………….……...4
About Health Centers………………………………….……5
Wyoming Lawmakers Fund the Primary Support
Program to Increase Access to Health Care……..…6
The Economic Impact of Health Centers..……………9
Profiles of Wyoming’s Health Centers……………..…11
Health Center Map………………………………………….15
The WYPCA board…………………………………..………17
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About the WYPCA
Primary Care Associations (PCA) are federally recognized nonprofit organizations that support the work of the Community
Health Centers in their state, and all states have a PCA.
PCAs provide:
Training and technical assistance on program requirements
Planning for Health Center growth to meet the needs of underserved communities
Partnerships with other community and state organizations to
help connect Health Centers to their communities
Marketing, communications and health policy support
Wyoming Health Centers provide great services to the communities they serve. The WYPCA is a partner in their work to improve the quality, affordability and availability of health
care. Together we work to ensure that underserved populations get the care they need, whether they are homeless, residing in rural communities without a primary care provider
or without resources to pay for care.
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About Health
Centers
Health centers have provided care to Americans for
50 years!
They act as part of our nation’s and our state’s primary care safety net. This safety net provides health
care services to the uninsured, Medicaid and other
vulnerable populations. These populations may delay getting the care they need due to homelessness
or because of financial, language and cultural barriers. Putting off care can escalate the initial problem
to require more expensive emergency care. Health
centers and other safety net providers have proven
time and again to provide quality care that saves
our health care system money.
Health centers are highly-efficient and costeffective. Their model of care has kept the quality of
care high, while keeping the rising costs of their
health care services well-below the national average.
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Wyoming Lawmakers Fund the
Primary Support Program to
Increase Access to Health Care
In early March 2011, Governor Mead signed H.B. 49, the Primary Care Support Act. This bill was sponsored by the Labor Health Committee to provide one-time startup or infrastructure funding to Community Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics with the goal of increasing health care in
rural communities.
The total amount of state funds available was $1 million, all
of which was awarded in May 2013 to four Wyoming communities. Each grantee must report on their project for
three years to show increased access to care and cost and
quality measures.
Powell Health Care Coalition
Powell Health Care Coalition received funding for a new
Community Health Center. With the grant funding, the
coalition has since applied for a New Access Point grant
and will know by next summer if they've been
awarded. Their service area is Park County.
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Evanston Community Health Center
Evanston Community Health Center is a satellite of Bear
Lake, Utah CHC. It received state funds to upgrade the
entrance for handicap accessibility, add x-ray equipment
and to remodel for increased patient capacity. Now completed, the health center will be in a position to provide
additional critical services to patients that are on the sliding fee scale and will be able to provide access to comprehensive primary health care and pharmacy services to the
underserved in Uinta County.
Above L to R: The expanded waiting room, the door to the now handicapaccessible entrance and the new x-ray machine
North Big Horn Hospital District
North Big Horn Hospital District in Lovell received state funds to
enhance the health care they deliver through their Rural Health
Clinic (RHC) so that people in the region do not have to travel to
receive care. They purchased a mobile van to reach outlying areas. The van is now on the road, traveling to Powell to provide
primary care for the Migrant Health Program and to senior centers and job sites in other small towns. The providers on the
van give flu shots and check blood pressures along with other
treatments and testing.
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The medical van the
North Big Horn Hospital
District purchased to
meet the needs of
migrant health workers
and others.
HealthWorks
HealthWorks, formerly Cheyenne Health and Wellness Center,
was set to use their state funding award to remodel additional
space in their current location. The Health Center is housed in
a metal building in south Cheyenne to be accessible to the underserved area there. This metal building was previously a
tack store in a commercial area. The original remodeling plan
would allow the pharmacy and dental areas to expand. This
project has not commenced yet. The Health Center’s new leadership is currently exploring the possibility of moving to a new
facility altogether. They hope to find a building that is better
suited for a medical clinic to take full advantage of the grant
funding. In collaboration with the Wyoming Department of
Health, which oversees these grants, the Health Center is
working to identify a new location as well as additional
funding.
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11
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Profiles on Wyoming’s
Health Centers
Evanston Community Health Center
The Evanston Community Health Center provides services
to the residents of Uinta County. This county has a population of 21,025 people. Their population is younger and more rural
than the Wyoming average. Uinta county has a higher rate of injuryrelated deaths in comparison to both the nation and the state. The
Evanston Community Health Center has the personnel and facilities
ready to address a higher than average injury rate. They can treat all
the sprains, breaks and lacerations this population often presents along
with meeting the needs of the underserved population in the area.
Wyoming Migrant Health Program
The Wyoming Migrant Health Program is located in Powell
and serves 4 counties: Washakie, Park, Big Horn and Fremont.
Wyoming growers, especially those that farm beets, pinto beans, alfalfa and
sunflowers in the Big Horn Basin, rely on the labor that migrant workers provide. Therefore it is important that these workers be healthy enough to complete this physically-intensive type of labor. That is where the Wyoming Migrant Health Program comes in. It provides workers access to health care
that is appropriate for their health and cultural needs, as well as their work
schedules. The program also connects workers with other social services their
families might need.
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Community Health Center of Casper
The Community Health Center of Casper serves Natrona County and its 78,621 residents. This county is
the closest representative to the Wyoming average in terms of
demographics. The exception being that is has less American Indians and Hispanics. This population has been found to have higher
instances of chronic lung disease. The Community Health Center of
Casper addresses this issue by having one of the top pulmonary
specialists in the country on staff.
Fremont Community Health Center
Satellite clinic of Community Health Center of Casper
The Fremont Community Health Center serves the
residents of Fremont County. High instances of liver
disease have been found in this population. It is understood to be
due to high rates of alcohol abuse. In addition, Fremont County
has a high number of alcohol-impaired driving deaths. It’s been
estimated that as many as a third of all depression cases lead to a
drinking problem. That‘s why the Fremont Community Health
Center offers depression evaluations to its patients as a preventative measure to more dire health consequences.
Dubois Community Health Center
Satellite clinic of Community Health Center of Casper
The Dubois Community Health Center serves Fremont
County and its population of 41,110 people. The population
surrounding the clinic has a higher percentage of senior citizens, and the
Dubois Health Center is the only primary care clinic for 120 miles. To meet
the urgent needs of an older population, they have a small emergency
room that helps triage patients before they are moved to Jackson or
Riverton for further treatment.
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HealthWorks
HealthWorks serves Laramie County and its 94,483 residents. Laramie County boasts greater cultural and ethnic diversity than other areas in Wyoming. Laramie County has a
high rate of diabetes. HealthWorks offers both chronic disease management, including an innovative Hepatitis C program, and comprehensive primary care to meet the needs of all their patients. They
unveiled their new name this summer to emphasize their commitment to coordinating the resources for good health, including dental
care and pharmacy, in a single, patient-centered environment.
Community Action’s Health Care for
the Homeless
Community Action’s Health Care for the Homeless is a
program that provides medical care and other health
services to the homeless population living in Laramie County. This
includes people living temporarily in motels, sleeping on the streets,
residing in short-term residential facilities or doubling up with
friends or family. This population is especially vulnerable to illness,
including tuberculosis. To meet their needs, the clinic offers primary
health care, limited dental, prescription assistance and mental
health/substance abuse referrals as needed. They also offer health
education, transportation assistance to health care appointments
and help in accessing federal, state and private resources.
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Sweetwater Health Center and
Pharmacy
Sweetwater Health Center and Pharmacy serves
Sweetwater County and its 45,267 residents. This
population has more Hispanics and is less rural than the Wyoming
average. Sweetwater County has the highest rate of deaths caused
by influenza. They feature a lab, new pharmacy and offer flu
shots along with other immunizations to meet the county’s needs.
They hope to add dentistry to their list of services in the coming
year.
12th Street Health Care for the
Homeless
The 12th Street Health Care for the Homeless Clinic
serves the homeless population located in Natrona
County. This clinic is able to provide mental and substance abuse
on-site, thanks to a contract with the Central Wyoming Counseling
Center. Like the Health Care for the Homeless in Cheyenne, this
clinic provides primary care that meets the specific health challenges that being homeless brings. This clinic also works with other
agencies located in the community to meet other needs of this vulnerable population.
Educational Health Center of Wyoming
The Educational Health Center of Wyoming (EHCW) is
the newest member of the Primary Care Association.
The University Family Practice Residency program (dba EHCW)
became eligible for membership when they received and FQHC
designation from HRSA. Operating in two locations, they serve
both Natrona and Laramie counties. The Educational Health Center of Wyoming serves approximately 17,000 patient annually and
gets high marks from their patients.
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Health Center Locations
Evanston Community Health
Center
75 Yellow Creek Road Suite 102
Evanston WY
Phone: 307-789-8290 CHC
Wyoming Migrant Health Program
615 East 7th Street
Powell, WY 82435
Phone: (307) 754-5252 CHC
Dubois Community Health Center
5647 U.S. Hwy. 26
Dubois, WY 82513
Phone: (307)455-2516 CHC
Sweetwater Health Center and
Pharmacy
2620 Commercial Way, Suite 140
Rock Springs, WY 82901
(307) 212-4241 CHC
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Community Action’s Health
Care for the Homeless
1504 Stinson Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82001
Phone: (307) 632-8064 CHC
12th Street Health Care for the
Homeless
1514 E. 12th Street # 201
Casper, WY 82601
Phone: (307) 235-6116 CHC
Community Health Center of
Casper
5000 Blackmore Road
Casper, WY 82609
Phone: (307) 233-6000 CHC
Education Health Center of
Wyoming
Cheyenne clinic: 820 East 17th
Street, Cheyenne, WY 82001
Phone: 307-632-2434 LA
Fremont Community Health
Center
511 N. 12th Street
Riverton, WY 82501
Phone: (307) 463-7160 CHC
Casper clinic: 1522 East A Street,
Casper, WY 82601
Phone: 307-234-6161 LA
HealthWorks
2508 E. Fox Farm Rd. 1-1A
Cheyenne, WY 82007
Phone: 307-635-3618 CHC
Types of Health Centers
CHC— Grant-Supported Federally Qualified Health Centers are public and
private non-profit health care organizations that meet certain criteria under
the Medicare and Medicaid Programs (respectively, Sections 1861(aa)(4) and
1905(l)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act and receive funds under the Health Center Program (Section 330 of the Public Health Service Act).
LA- Non-grant-supported Health Centers are health centers that have been
identified by HRSA and certified by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as meeting the definition of “health center” under Section 330 of the PHS
Act, although they do not receive grant funding under Section 330. They are
referred to as "look-alikes."
These definitions appear on HRSA’s website at: http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/:
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Thank You!
We are passionate
about meeting the
health needs of Wyoming residents. We
look forward to serving you in the next 20
years.
-The WYPCA Board
From L to R: Elizabeth Hoy, President; Louis Alvariza, Vice President; Lucy
Williamson, Treasurer; Brenda Burnett; Dean Joseph Steiner; Daniel Myers
Mary Bienz; Norma Randall; Mike Gilmore and Brenda Eickhoff
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Staff
Jan Cartwright, Executive Director
Phone: 307-632-5743
Email: [email protected]
Hannah Wickey, Communications/Outreach and
Enrollment Manager
Phone: 307-632-5743
Email: [email protected]
Kathy Williams, Office Manager/Director of Events
Phone: 307-632-5743
Email: [email protected]
Mary Lynne Shickich, Health Policy
Phone: 307-632-5743
Email: [email protected]
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The Wyoming Primary Care Association, 1720 Carey Avenue Suite 601, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82001
P: 307-632-5743
W: www.wypca.org
E: [email protected]
This publication is made available using Section 330 funding through HRSA/BPHC. Wyoming Primary Care
Association grant number: U58CS06849