UK: Carryover - Health Center Program

Project Abstract Project Title: Service Area Competition-AA Applicant Organization Name: University of Kentucky Address: 500 South Limestone, 109 Kinkead Hall Lexington, KY 40526-0001 Project Director Name: Larry Quillen, MBA, Chief Executive Officer Contact Phone Numbers: Phone: (800) 851-7512; Fax: (606) 435-0038 E-Mail Address: [email protected] Type of Section 330 Funding Requested: CHC Website: https://ukhealthcare.uky.edu/hospitals-clinics/north-fork-valley-community-health-center Funding Request: $2,261.084 North Fork Valley Community Health Center (NFVCHC) was established as a result of a cooperative effort between the University of Kentucky College of Medicine (UK COM) Department of Family and Community Medicine-Hazard (a residency program and Family Medicine clinic) and a group of citizens who recognized the immense need for accessible primary health care services for the rural, low income, and uninsured Appalachian residents of Perry and Knott counties in southeastern Kentucky. A combination of geographical, cultural, and financial barriers have prohibited local residents from obtaining necessary health care. Decades of entrenched, persistent poverty further complicate the treatment and management of those chronic conditions (diabetes, lung cancer and cardiovascular disease) that disproportionately afflict our population and result in excessive mortality and morbidity rates. While the service area, based on where 75% of our health center patients originate, includes five southeastern Kentucky counties including Perry, Knott, Leslie, Breathitt and Letcher, our primary service area centers on Perry and Knott counties where 74% of all our health center patients reside. Perry and Knott counties have a combined population of 42,724 residents, where, on average, 28% of that population lives at or below 100% of the federal poverty level, compared to 16.30% for Kentucky as a whole. Moreover, over one-half of this population lives at or below 200% of poverty level. Perry and Knott Counties have various designations for HPSA, MUA and MUP. Both counties are designated a Low Income Population HPSA for primary care as well as a High Need Geographic HPSA for mental health. Perry county is designated a Medically Underserved Population while Knott county is a designated Medically Underserved Area. Finally, Knott County is a designated Low Income Population for dental health. Created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the service area includes four opportunity zones (three in Perry County and one in Knott County). In addition to opportunity zones, Perry county is a part of the federally designated southeastern Kentucky Promise Zone, which will support job creation and expand educational opportunities in persistently impoverished, mining dependent communities impacted by the demise of the coal industry in southeastern Kentucky. NFVCHC operates from clinical sites in Perry and Knott County along with two mobile dental outreach teams. We serve our medically underserved area by providing quality services, both directly and by arrangement. Services provided encompass all of the required health center program services to include primary, preventive, diagnostic and mental health services. We propose a target population of approximately 7,410 unduplicated patients and 28,593 encounters. This will include a funding request in the amount of $2,261,084.