APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – It’s National Health Center Week, and a community health facility in Appleton is taking a look at their impact on those in the area.
Partnerships Community Health Center has been helping people in the Fox Valley receive affordable health care for over 20 years, and now serves more than 16,000 people.
“We do medical, dental, behavioral health – we help people enroll into health insurance, [provide] low-cost pharmacy. We really care for anyone in need of care,” said Partnerships’ Development Director, Trish Sarvela. “We’re part of a national movement of community health that really focuses on getting people the care that they need and the care that they deserve in the best possible way with the highest quality standards.”
The key part of the equation for most of their patients is the affordability aspect of the healthcare service. Eric Stumpner is one of those patients.
“They have a dental office next door, so I’ve got a dental appointment scheduled next month. I came here for the psychologist, and I got a medical appointment next week. I just come here for everything in general,” Stumpner said. “Humanity is great. It’s good to know that somebody is there for you if you need them to be. We don’t all have high-paying jobs and lots of money to go pay for doctors that might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or something. So it’s nice to know that places like this are available.”
“We need to keep our community safe and healthy and providing an affordable option like something a partnership is is critical to meet that mission…We accept BadgerCare, but we also have a sliding fee scale from 0 to $80 for people who are not eligible to get other types of insurance so we can keep those costs really low,” Sarvela told WTAQ News. “Financial worries that people have around medical care are huge. The number one cause for bankruptcy in this country is medical debt, and we are here to provide affordable care and low-cost care. We help people enroll into health insurance so that can cover some of it.”
“We can provide care to people even if they don’t have insurance, which can be a huge barrier to going to other clinics in the area. What can happen is, they can go [to other clinics], but they end up with a really large bill that then causes them to have financial issues,” said Medical Director, Dr. Brittany Goodrich-Braun.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on more than just the respiratory health of those the virus infected.
“A lot of patients kind of put their care off with the pandemic, and I think a lot of hospitals have seen that as well. So we’re really encouraging people to come back and take care of those chronic health conditions. Get back in so that we can prevent things from getting worse,” Goodrich-Braun said.
However, she says having people feel comfortable returning to a healthcare setting is an important factor in getting them to walk back through the doors.
“I think having staff vaccinated has really helped patients get more comfortable with it, because they see their providers, their nurses, their medical assistant have the vaccine and that they did well with it. So it’s really encouraged our patients to get it done,” Goodrich-Braun told WTAQ News. “We absolutely recommend everyone that can get vaccinated, get vaccinated. Our kids are about to get back into school, and a lot of area schools are not requiring masks this year although they are recommended…Even though you can get COVID if you’ve been vaccinated, your chances of having a severe illness are much less. So it hopefully keeps you out of the hospital and keeps you from dying from the disease.”
“I think it’s great that they offer people vaccines and give you the option of coming in and getting a vaccine for free. Especially for young kids today, they can stop the spread in the schools. That’s one of the most highly contagious places out there, with all these kids packed in one little room,” Stumpner added.
To help reach rural patients and those who have difficulty traveling, the center is hosting a number of mobile vaccine clinics. You can learn more about Partnerships Community Health by clicking here.
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