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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGrant Request - Volunteers in MedicineEconomic Development Fund Discretionary Grant Program Organization: Volunteers in Medicine Organization Description: Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades is a non- profit medical clinic on the St. Charles hospital campus. The organization's goal is to serve the health care needs of uninsured Deschutes County residents who don't qualify for Oregon Health Plan or Medicare and have no access to medical care. Project Name: Volunteer Training and Recognition Program Project Description: These grant funds will be used to help underwrite a portion of the organization's Volunteer Training and Recognition Program. This program includes training materials, internal protocol, medical and phone training, oversight by a volunteer coordinator and front desk coordinator, volunteer recognition and volunteer and community partner recruitment. It is estimated the organization can leverage $8 worth of care for each grant dollar through utilization of volunteers. If Deschutes County chooses to fund this program by March 31, 2010 a donor will match up to $2,500. Project Period: Ongoing Amount of Request: $3,000 Previous Grants: • June 2004: $5,500 Equipment ($5,500 Luke) • January 2006: $4,500 Technology Hardware ($2,250 Daly; $2,250 Clarno) • Dec. 2006: $3,000 Medical Equip. ($1,500 Clarno; $1,000 Daly; $500 Luke) • Sept. 2007: $7,500 Medical Equip. ($3,000 Baney; $2,500 Luke; $2,000 Daly) • FY 2009 Community Grant: $11,500 • Jan. 2009: $4,000 Equipment ($2,000 Unger; $1,000 Baney; $1,000 Luke) • FY 2010 Community Grant: $10,000 • February 2010: $2,500 IT Asst. Project ($1,500 Unger; $1,000 Baney) VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE CLINIC OF THE CASCADES Providing Healthcare to the Medically Uninsured in Deschutes County Mr. Dave Inbody Deschutes County Administration 1300 NW Wall Street, Suite 200 Bend, OR 97701-1960 March 12, 2010 Dear Mr. Inbody: Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades respectfully submits this Request for Funding in the amount of $3,000 to support and increase the ability of our clinic to coordinate specialty health care and dental care for our low-income, uninsured patients by helping to fund our internal Volunteer Training & Recognition Program. By helping us to fund our Volunteer Training & Recognition Program, Deschutes County will help to address the basic health care needs of our patients by enabling us to maintain and hopefully increase the number of volunteers and community partners affiliated with our clinic. All of VIM's patients are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and thus considered to be a "special needs population." Our volunteers enable us to see over 8,500 patient visits per year, with only 8.0 FTE staff. Without their tireless efforts VIM would not exist. We estimate that in 2009 VIM leveraged $6 million in care for our patients through our volunteers as well as our community healthcare and dental partners. We are one of only three safety -net medical clinics in the Bend area, and the only privately funded safety -net clinic in the region. Thank you for taking the time to review our application. Sincerely, \(A -A- JUS,11A‘lA Katherine Mastrangelo Executive Director 542.585.9005 www.vim-cascades.org 2300 Neff Road - Bend, Oregon 97701 phone 541/330 9001 - fax 541/585 9002 - www.vim-coscodes.org Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 — Fax (541) 385-3202 — Phone www.deschutes.org DESCHUTES COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION Direct Application to: Commissioner Tammy Baney Commissioner Dennis R. Luke Date: March 12, 2010 Project Beginning Date: Amount of Request: Applicant/Organization: Address: Project Name: Ongoing $3,000 Commissioner Alan Unger All Three Commissioners X Volunteer Training & Recognition Program Volunteers in Medicine, Clinic of the Cascades 2300 NE Neff Rd. Contact Name(s): Fax: Katherine Mastrangelo (541) 585-9002 Alt. Number: N/A Project End Date: Date Funds Needed: Tax ID #: City & Zip: Telephone: Email: Ongoing ASAP 93-1327847 Bend, 97701 (541) 585-9005 kat.mastrangelo@vim-cascades.org * See separate documents for answers to questions 1— 6, budget, and 501c3 Status Tammy Baney: Dennis Luke: Alan Unger: Amount: Amount: Amount: Signature: Signature: Signature: DESCHUTES COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FUND DISCRETIONARY GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION QUESTIONS VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE CLINIC OF THE CASCADES Volunteers in Medicine Clinic of the Cascades 1. Describe the applicant Organization, including -its purpose, leadership structure, and activities. History, Mission & Vision: Volunteers in Medicine (VIM) Clinic of the Cascades is a private, non-profit, volunteer -powered medical clinic that serves uninsured working families in Deschutes County. The Clinic of the Cascades is one clinic in a network of over seventy spread across the United States. The clinic is located in Bend, Oregon on the campus of the St. Charles Medical Center. The Clinic of the Cascades has over 325 dedicated physicians, nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, screeners, schedulers, medical interpreters, mental health counselors, undergraduate, graduate, and medical students who volunteer over 25,000 hours annually to care for our patients. Our mission is "To improve the health and wellness of the medically uninsured through the engagement of professionals, community partners and dedicated volunteers in Deschutes County." The vision of VIM Clinic of the Cascades is to become a premier model of effective, integrated, volunteer -based healthcare in Deschutes County. VIM Clinic of the Cascades has identified the following core values to be integral to our mission and vision: • Compassion: service through a culture of caring and kindness • Collaboration: cultivated through synergistic, integrated partnerships • Success: achieved through ability, action and commitment to quality • Enrichment: nurtured through volunteers and staff through opportunity for meaningful contribution • Empowerment: promoted in the lives of clients and families to improve their own health and well-being Since opening our doors, the Clinic of the Cascades has provided care for over 5,000 families (40,000 + patient visits) in Deschutes County. The clinic is on track to provide healthcare services for approximately 8,500 patient visits per year. The number of patient visits has grown at over 10% per year, and is up 25% in the last 2 years alone. We hold daily clinics at our facility, with 4-6 PCPs and specialists on average staffing each clinic. VIM is filling an important and growing niche in our community. Furthermore, Deschutes County has realized a healthier and stronger workforce because of the efforts of VIM—over 1,100 businesses benefit because their employees or employees' families receive care at the VIM Clinic of the Cascades. Leadership & Structure: VIM is governed by a 13 -member Board of Directors with representation from the banking, business, industry and legal professions, Cascade Healthcare Community, the clergy, physicians, Deschutes County, and community volunteers. The day to day operations of the clinic are overseen by an Executive Director who leads the administrative and medical team in their supervision and direction of over 325 volunteers. The efforts and expertise of the volunteers are overseen by a small staff of 10 employees (8.0 FTEs) providing continuity in clinic operations, coordination, administration, care of facilities and fund raising. Primary Activities: VIM provides basic outpatient, specialty referral, mental health screening and treatment, chronic disease management, prescription assistance, and dental services. These services are provided by our volunteer doctors, nurses, phlebotomists, interpreters, psychologists, counselors and other volunteers who donate their time and talents free of charge. Specialty referral services are provided by our partners in the medical community who see VIM patients pro bono or at a reduced fee. All of the largest specialty and multi -specialty medical groups in Deschutes County participate in our programs. VIM can perform some urgent care by appointment and urgent care triage. Currently, we have one acute care clinic per week which is run by the physicians of St. Charles Bend Medical Center's Emergency Department who generously donate their time and expertise. 2. Describe the proposed project of activity Volunteers in Medicine has over 325 individuals who volunteer in our clinic, as well as 220 community healthcare partners who see our patients pro-bono in the community. Volunteers are essential to VIM's mission, without them our clinic would not exist. We see our volunteers as our most valuable asset and we ensure they are matched to jobs that fulfill them personally and professionally. However, we know that a positive, well -coordinated work environment is just part of what is necessary to maintain motivated, happy volunteers and community healthcare partners. For this reason we are asking Deschutes County for $3,000 to help us underwrite a portion of our Volunteer Training & Recognition Program. This program includes: • Training materials • Internal protocol, medical, and phone trainings • Oversight by our Volunteer Coordinator and Front Desk Coordinator • Volunteer recognition • Volunteer and community partner recruitment The funding from Deschutes County will be used for volunteer and community partner training, recognition and retention, as specifically outlined in our internal policies, and at the discretion of our Volunteer Coordinator, Kristi Jacobs. In the 2009 — 2010 Fiscal year we estimate that we leveraged nearly $6 million worth of care in our clinic and the greater community with a budget of less than $780,475. This effort would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of our volunteers. During this same time period we completed nearly 8,500 patient visits. That number puts us at maximum capacity. We hope to maintain this capacity to help meet the growing needs of our patients. 3. Provide a timeline for completing the proposed project of activity This is an ongoing project. We plan on supplementing this project in the future by applying for additional foundation grants and increasing individual donations. 4. Explain how the proposed project or activity will impact the community's economic health The need for our services has continued to increase as more people in Deschutes County have lost jobs and insurance coverage. We are seeing more patient visits with fewer staff and a smaller budget than the previous year, which means our internal coordination needs to be as efficient and organized as possible. As the economy continues to be depressed in Deschutes County we expect to see a continued increase in the need for our services for the foreseeable future. Our clinic volunteers and community partners enable us to meet this need. Medical related debt is the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States. In Deschutes County, where the unemployment rate was still 15.4% in November of 2009, the risk of mounting medical bills is high for low-income individuals. All of VIM's patients are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level. The population we serve do not qualify for any federal or state insurance, making them one of the most likely groups to be unable to receive medical treatment before their symptoms become urgent. Our volunteers and community healthcare partners allow us to see our patients for little or no cost. Unlike the other safety -net clinics in the region, VIM is not a federally funded clinic and we do not see Medicare, OHP or VA patients. We are currently leveraging approximately $8 worth of care, for every $1 donated to our clinic. The $3,000 we are requesting is less than 1% of our total budget, but this $3,000 can help us to leverage approximately $24,000 worth of care for our patients from internal volunteers and external community specialists. This has a significant impact on our ability to serve the community. Additionally, if the County chooses to fund this proposal by March 315t, 2010 an anonymous donor is willing to match the funds dollar -for -dollar up to $2,500. This means the County's $3,000 will actually be $5,500 and will leverage approximately $44,000 worth of care for VIM's patients. 5. Identify the specific communities or groups that will benefit Volunteers in Medicine positively impacts the community in several important ways. First, we provide access to comprehensive primary health care, mental health counseling, medical management, prescription assistance, and specialty care coordination. All of our patients are low-income, medically uninsured individuals who live or work in Deschutes County. All of our patients are at or below 200% of the federal poverty level, and most of them are working. We help small employers in Deschutes County to maintain a healthy work force. Our patients and their families work for over 1,100 local small businesses, many of whom are unable to afford costly health insurance premiums to cover their employees. Secondly, we provide meaningful and important work for over 325 volunteers. We know their work is important to them because of their dedication. Many of our volunteers work with us weekly and some of them work with us almost daily. One of our original volunteers, a retired physician has logged over 3,300 patient hours with us and he continues to work with us several days per week. Additionally, we consistently see clinic volunteers go on to medical training programs and jobs in the medical field in part due to their training in our clinic. Finally, the care that we leverage in the health care community means that physicians can see patients on a pro-bono basis, with the assurance that the patient has a primary care home, can access the other necessary care from other community providers, and that the burden is being shared equally across the community. We estimate that we save the health care system in excess of $1 million annually by treating our patients at our clinic instead of their seeking care in the Emergency Department. We take this role to be integral to what we do. We are the only out-patient clinic that focuses on providing care to the low-income working uninsured residents of Deschutes County on a pro-bono basis. 6. Itemize anticipated expenditures. Describe how grant funds will be used and include the source and mounts of matching funds or in-kind contributions, if any. If the grant will support an ongoing activity, explain how it will be funded in the future. See Budget (Attachment A) 6 Program Budget Volunteer Training VOLUNTEERS IN MEDICINE Cascades Program CLINIC Or THE CASCADES - VIM of the & Recognition Attachment A Item Currnt Annual Programcost Deschutes County Request Comment Volunteer Program Materials $ 2,000 $ 500 Total cost of basic supplies and materials for the volunteer training. Volunteer Coordinator and Front Desk Coordinator $ 25,000 $ 2,000 Salary support spent on training and recognition, this includes but is not limited to volunteer solicitation, application processing, volunteer trainings, and volunteer recognition events. Recognition $ 5,000 $ 500 Total amount budgeted for volunteer recognition which includes: plaques, specialized shirts, shirt pins, and paid announcements. TOTAL $ 32,000 $ 3,000 Just over 9% of the total cost of the program and less than 1% of our total budget for the 2009 - 2010 fiscal year.