Health Center Cluster New Access Point to Serve Low Income and Uninsured Populations in Rural Southeastern Kentucky

North Fork Valley Community Health Board University of Kentucky College of Medicine PROJECT ABSTRACT North Fork Valley Community Health Center North Fork Valley Community Health Board with University of Kentucky College of Medicine 750 Morton Boulevard, Room 440 Hazard, KY 41701 Contact Phone Numbers: Phone (800) 851-7512 E-Mail Address: [email protected] Web Site Address: Not applicable Congressional district( s) Fifth Congressional District Types of HRSNBPHC funding requested: CHC Existing Federal funding received None Organization, service area and population: The North Fork Valley Community Health Board and the University of Kentucky Family Practice Center, to be called North Fork Valley Community Health Center (NFVCHC), are co-applicants seeking a Section 330 new access point grant to establish a health care center that will offer quality health care to those in need in southeastern Kentucky. The NFVCHC is located in the town of Hazard in census tract 9705. This census tract along with seven additional contiguous census tracts within the Kentucky River Development District form the service area: 9702, 9703, 9704, 9706, in Perry County, 9602 and 9605 in Knott County, and 9803 in Leslie County. Located in the heart of Appalachia, the proposed service area is a rural, sparsely populated, mountainous region. The three-county service area census tracts encompass three Medically Underserved Areas (MUA) and three designated Federal Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) within its boundaries. The total population of the proposed service area is 34,485. The target population for the North Fork Valley Community Health Center are low-income rural residents. There are high levels of poverty (58% at 200% of federal poverty level) and rapidly growing numbers of uninsured. The major health care needs are predominantly treatment and management of chronic diseases with high mortality and morbidity rates - diabetes, asthma, and cardiovascular disease. Kentuckian lifestyles promote the prevalence of these diseases. Smoking and obesity rates are among the highest in the nation. Substance abuse is at very high levels, with few options for treatment. The oral health of the three-county area is very poor with some of the lowest rates of dentists in the state and almost none that provide care to the uninsured. Barriers to care are the rural nature of the service area, making it difficult to get to health care resources. There has been an historical scarcity of health education and prevention support. The proposed project will expand the operations of the current family practice center to serve 8,725 users in 25,950 encounters at the health center's current site in Hazard, county seat of Perry County. The health center will provide primary, oral health and behavioral health care to all ages in the life cycle, including perinatal care, and will focus on health education and outreach to support the effective delivery of health care. The center will employ 16.75 direct care providers and 32.75 staff when fully operational. Other: The NFVCHC is committed to supporting the development of a local health care network in southeastern Kentucky region by connecting with other 330 health centers, other health care . organizations and the whole array of community organizations to build a comprehensive and ultimately seamless approach to health care, to serve the neediest residents of the North Fork Valley district. Title: Applicant: Address: Fax: 606-436-6988 New Access Point Application December 1, 2004 Page 23