The Clinic Today
Although the mission and vision have remained the same, since its early stages, St. Thomas CHC has grown and transformed into a one of the largest and most comprehensive non-profit health care provider in the New Orleans area. St. Thomas CHC is designated a U.S. Public Health (PHS) section 330-funded Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) and recognized by the National Council for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Level II Certified Patient-Centered Medical Home. St. Thomas CHC operates to reduce the health disparities affecting the low-income, uninsured and underinsured populations of the Greater New Orleans area. Therfore, St. Thomas provides culturally competent health care of the highest quality, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.
St. Thomas CHC has seven full-time primary care providers, i.e. three physicians and fournurse practitioners, and employs an additional two part-time providers. Hours of operation are from 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays. The clinic offers a full range of prevention and primary care services, including Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, with Obstetrical care provided through collaboration with Ochsner Clinic Foundation. Consultative specialty services are also available. St. Thomas offers same day scheduling to established patients and the clinic strives to accept as many new patients each week as possible.
Although the primary mission of St. Thomas CHC has been to offer comprehensive, evidenced based primary care, we have also recognized that since Hurricane Katrina, specialty care of the uninsured has been at times nonexistent. For that reason, St. Thomas has been able to capitalize on relationships made with several specialty providers to provide specialty consultation on site at St. Thomas CHC. The specialty services offered by St. Thomas CHC are made available to all patients of the other “safety net” providers in the community (i.e. those clinics who see patients regardless of their ability to pay). For more information regarding the scope of services and specialty care available at St. Thomas, please visit our “Services Available” page.
What St. Thomas means to the community
Since the re-opening of St. Thomas clinic in October, 2005, the clinic has provided ongoing comprehensive primary care to patients regardless of their ability to pay. For patients without insurance, St. Thomas CHC provides services on a sliding fee scale based on the patient’s income level and family size. Fees may, with financial documentation, be waived where appropriate. In addition, St. Thomas CHC accepts most major health insurance plans.
Notably, the clinic is one of only two sites in the region which provides mammography screening and ultrasound testing for uninsured women. St. Thomas is also diligently working to support New Orleans’ health resiliency and mental health issues by providing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training sessions to the clinic’s most at-risk patients groups.
St. Thomas CHC’s recently applied for and was awarded certification as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. Being a medical home signifies that St. Thomas CHC successfully uses systematic processes and information technology to enhance the quality of patient care. This enhanced care is crucial to the clinic’s patients who would otherwise remain marginalized within the New Orleans health care network.
Additionally, in recent years St. Thomas has made great strides in expanding its service capacity. In 2010, St Thomas CHC expanded its primary care services into the New Orleans Central City area located in the Mahalia Jackson School complex on Jackson Avenue. Furthermore, in 2011 St. Thomas CHC was able to renovate a building one half block from its existing location to open a new, state of the art, Primary Care Center. The Donald Erwin Building has expanded the clinic’s service capacity by 12,000sq. ft.; thus, allowing for St. Thomas CHC to employ additional physicians and support staff and increase the number of registered patients and patient encounters.
Sustainability
Since its inception, St. Thomas CHC has been an independent, not-for-profit clinic.. Being independent has given the clinic the opportunity to be flexible and quickly responsive to community direction and needs.
Many St. Thomas patients have become eligible for an insurance product available through the New Orleans “safety net clinics”, i.e. coverage under the Greater New Orleans Community Health Connection (GNOCHC). This GNOCHC product is a unique for of Medicaid which allows covered patients to be seen for outpatient services at any of the safety net clinics which are eligible providers. We urge all our patients to come to the clinic for us to see if they are eligible for the coverage. If so, we will enroll them at that time. (see below for information to bring for enrollement)
As an independent clinic, St Thomas CHC does not have the financial support found by being in a large medical system. However, it does allow St Thomas to be flexible in tailoring the programs we offer to the evolving needs of the community, and to do so in a culturally competent way. We are able to be sure our business model is developed along anti-racist business principles. We use a financial sliding scale for charges, based on documented financial need, and we also ask for prompt payment for services rendered based on the patient’s ability to support the clinic.
This same independence has also meant ongoing challenges to financial security and sustainability. Revenue generation, grants, and donor contributions remain critical. Cost effectiveness and efficiencies are constantly reviewed. While the revenues generated by being a Federally Qualified Health Center are crucial, continuation of all St. Thomas CHC services will continue to require ongoing grant, corporate and individual support. Please visit our donation page to see how you can support St. Thomas Community Health Center.