Hepatitis C is a major concern The closest alcohol/substance abuse treatment centers are in Minot, ND or in Billings and are prohibitively expensive. As people cannot always afford treatment, they either come back home, go to jail, or end up in an accident Underserved Population – Youth [Karla Thompson, RN – RCHD on October 7, 2014] Childhood immunizations are at 94% in the county Prenatal care in the first trimester is just over 10% - women do not come in for prenatal care because they may be using meth or other drugs In Wolf Point, a survey found that approximately 40% of women seeking maternal/child healthcare were on drugs RCHD is starting a home visiting program for families with children aged 0-3 years – the program is voluntary and families must sign up for it We have seen suffocation deaths with infants/mothers in Roosevelt County Underserved Population – Senior Citizens [Dee Hanson – Counselor at RCHD on October 7, 2014] The health department will begin offering “options counseling” for those families in the county who are trying to decide if a parent should go into a home Medicare classes are available once a year Underserved Population – Tribal [Jessica Schmitz, RN – North Eastern Montana Health Services & Fort Peck Tribal Dialysis on October 7, 2014] There is a larger population of Native Americans in Roosevelt County, which may explain the higher prevalence of diabetes in this area compared to the rest of the state Needs Identified and Prioritized Prioritized Needs to Address “Access to health care and other services” was identified as the most important component of a healthy community. Slightly over 25% of the survey respondents indicated a poor to fair knowledge of health services at Roosevelt Medical Center
Develop a community resource guide in partnership with the hospital's steering committee Marketing/ Telemedicine Coordinator & BHIS 3rd Quarter 2015 CEO Schools, churches, Senior Citizen centers, Banks Resource limitations Needs Being Addressed by this Strategy: #1: “Access to health care and other services” was identified as the most important component of a healthy community. #2: Slightly over 25% of the survey respondents indicated a poor to fair knowledge of health services at Roosevelt Medical Center. #3: Significantly fewer respondents in 2014 learned about health services in the community through mailings or the hospital newsletter and significantly more of the respondents use the hospital’s website and the internet to learn about health services in the community. Anticipated Impact(s) of these Activities: Increased access to healthcare services for community members. Improved health of the community. Increased communication between the hospital and community. Plan to Evaluate Anticipated Impact(s) of these Activities: Track patient visits resulting from emails/newsletters sent to patients. Measure of Success: Roosevelt Medical Center will implement monthly health update emails by June, 2015 Goal 2: Improve community health education and outreach activities in the community. Strategy 2.1: Expand existing community education programs and explore opportunities to start new programs. Activities Responsibility Timeline Final Approval Partners Potential Barriers Coordinate with hospital personnel to host information events with community organizations and expand existing programs (i.e. Evening with Elizabeth, etc.) Medical Providers, Marketing & Telemedicine Coordinator Ongoing- Start April 2015 CEO Lions Club, Legion, K.C.'s, Froid Rod & Gun Club Resource limitations Explore the feasibility of hosting a health fair Department Managers Fair 2016 CEO Public Health, Schools, Senior Citizen Center Resource limitations, Financial limitations Promote existing diabetes education program through the development of a surveys to RMC’s diabetic population in order to gauge effectiveness of the existing program Clinic Manager / Business Office Manager Spring 2017 CEO Billings Clinic Resource limitations
Needs Not Addressed and Justification Identified health needs unable to address by Roosevelt Medical Center Rationale The number of respondents indicating that “Affordable housing” is an important component for a healthy community has increased significantly over each of the surveys conducted (2008, 2012, and 2014). This is a broad issue that cannot be addressed through the hospital alone. The Culbertson community already has the Great Northern Development organization that was created to address this issue. Significantly more respondents indicated a need for specialists in 2014 versus 2012. At this time, providing full-time specialists is beyond the resource capacity of Roosevelt Medical Center. RMC offers consults with some specialists via telemedicine and works with Billings Clinic continuously to add more specialties as the specialists are willing to provide telehealth services. RMC does not have enough volume of patients in any one specialty area to get specialists to travel here for onsite consults. RMC will continue to educate patients and the community about available telemedicine services. Respondents in 2014 were significantly more likely to indicate a need for transportation assistance. Providing a solution to this widespread problem is beyond the capacity of Roosevelt Medical Center. There are also other organizations whose focus is more aligned with this issue. Survey respondents indicated the most interest in having the following services available locally: dental clinic, fitness center, and massage therapy. Providing these services is currently beyond the resource and financial capacity of RMC at this time. Over 30% of survey respondents indicated being unaware of programs that help people pay for healthcare bills. Roosevelt Medical Center has pamphlets about financial assistance for medical bills, including our charity care information, available in the clinic and ER and mails them out when final notices are sent from billing. Our charity care application is available on our website. We have had a certified Navigator and held public meetings the past 2 years to educate the public about the state health insurance exchange. We will continue to provide information about financial assistance in newsletters, our website, and our facebook page to increase public awareness of financial assistance options for healthcare bills.