Council of Community Clinics Expands Presence In Riverside With Addition Of New Member
Community Health Systems, Inc. Cites Training, Advocacy, Collaboration and Fund Development as Drivers of Decision to Join Council
Community Health Systems, Inc. Cites Training, Advocacy, Collaboration and Fund Development as Drivers of Decision to Join Council
SAN DIEGO, Feb. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Council of Community Clinics (CCC), the leading consortium providing health care policy, advocacy, technical assistance and training, and programs and services to community health centers and other safety net partners in Southern California, today announced Community Health Systems, Inc. (CHSI) has joined the Council. Headquartered in Moreno Valley and operating five community health centers in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties, the addition of CHSI brings the CCC's membership to 17 health centers serving more than 768,000 low-income and uninsured patients through 2.3 million patient visits annually.
"We are delighted to welcome Community Health Systems to the Council of Community Clinics and look forward to supporting their efforts to provide access to quality health care," said Henry N. Tuttle, chief executive officer of CCC. "CHSI shares our vision of providing a safety net to ensure all in our communities receive excellent primary care against a backdrop of the significant changes occurring across the health care landscape."
CHSI joins CCC at a time when the Council is expanding its presence to better meet the primary health delivery needs of residents in the Inland Empire. In 2014, CCC members provided two-thirds of community health center services in Riverside County. In support of the Council's accelerated regional growth objectives, it will hold two community brainstorming sessions in Riverside this month to explore ways to further enhance health center services in the county.
"Our decision to join CCC is based largely on the Council's ambitious slate of training opportunities in primary care issues and systems, as well as its powerful networking, advocacy and grant writing support," stated Jack E. Johns, chief executive officer of CHSI. "We're a growing nonprofit, and our affiliation with CCC will help us better meet the needs of our patients."
CHSI logs more than 82,500 patient visits a year at its five center locations including the Bloomington Community Health Center in San Bernardino County, the Jack E. Johns Fallbrook Family Health Center in San Diego County, and three centers in Riverside County — Magnolia, University and Moreno Valley. Each site offers medical and dental services, while an increasing number also provide behavioral health and optometry services. Currently, CHSI is completing a renovation at its Fallbrook site, which will add 7,000-square feet for behavioral health services.
"The Council has so much to offer its members, and, in turn, we can share our experience and expertise in meeting population health needs in Riverside and San Bernardino counties with the organization and its member health centers," said Lori Holeman, chief operating officer for CHSI. "This collective information sharing and leveraging of best practices is crucial to our organization's future success."
"The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is putting added pressure on community health centers like CHSI to not only accept more patients, but to charge differently for services, moving from volume-based to value-based," added Tuttle. "Many questions remain about payment reform and other issues. Within CCC, member health centers are able to share solutions, enabling our communities to be better prepared for the future."
About the Council of Community Clinics
The Council of Community Clinics and its subsidiaries represent and support community health centers in their efforts to provide access to quality health care and related services for the diverse communities they serve, with an emphasis on low-income and uninsured populations. For more information, visit www.ccc-sd.org.
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SOURCE Council of Community Clinics
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