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(Chambersburg, PA) – Driven by a diminutive woman with a big heart, and a
no-nonsense attitude when it comes to
advocacy for people in need of help, the non-profit Keystone
Health Center continues to grow, as do the needs of the Franklin
County area’s under- and uninsured residents.
Keystone President and CEO Joanne Cochran has hosted U.S.
Senators and Congressmen in her efforts to focus their attention
on the issue of affordable health care. She has convinced them
of Keystone’s need for additional funds, at a time when health
insurance costs continue to rise and dollars are harder to
squeeze out of federal coffers.
She has forged alliances – locally with Summit Health, and with
groups such as the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), an
organization devoted to recruiting doctors and other clinicians
to areas of the country which are considered by the federal
government to be “underserved communities.”
Last year, Keystone was featured in an NHSC publication as a
“success story” in Pennsylvania.
Fittingly, the Franklin County Commissioners recently honored
Cochran, her staff and the center’s board of directors by
declaring a week in Keystone’s honor, as part of National Health
Center Week.
Cochran is not one to chat a lot, or make small talk. She is not
interested in personal accolades, or with impressing people,
unless it is to impress upon them the need for affordable health
care. Her work – her mission – is all important, and the
evolution of Keystone is testament to that focus.
Keystone was originally founded in 1986 to provide health care to
migrant and seasonal farm workers in Franklin County’s
agricultural community. It was then called the Keystone Migrant
Health Center. Several years later, Keystone became what it is
today – an organization that provides high-quality health care
to residents of Franklin County and surrounding areas,
regardless of their ability to pay.
The budget has grown from $60,000 in 1986 to close to $12 million
today. Keystone currently offers family medicine, obstetric,
gynecological, behavioral and dental health care services to
residents. Most recently, in response to a growing need, the
organization established the Franklin County Heart Center in
Chambersburg – a specialty practice that brings state-of-the-art
cardiology services – including catheterizations and stent
placement, to the area.
Keystone operates five care sites in Chambersburg: Keystone
Family Practice, Keystone Dental Care, Keystone Women’s Care,
Franklin County Pediatrics, and the Heart Center.
Keystone also offers such things as HIV treatment and counseling,
substance abuse treatment, mental health services and help with
social services when needed. Spanish translation is provided.
Not forgotten are the agricultural workers. Keystone continues
serving these families, with one year-‘round migrant and
seasonal farmworker site in Berks County, and one seasonal
farmworker site in Adams County. Services are also provided
throughout Pennsylvania, through outreach workers and contracted
providers.
As a federally-qualified program, Keystone has been able through
the NHSC to bring highly-qualified physicians to the center, as
well as to offer patients discount prescription drugs through a
federal drug pricing program.
Keystone has more than 100 full-time and more than two dozen
part-time physicians and staff. The number of men, women and
children served annually by the center now numbers between
40,000 and 42,000. In 2003 alone, there were 114,866 patient
visits to Keystone practices. Of those patients, 50 percent were
on Medical Assistance or paid on a sliding fee scale. No one was
turned away.
“Far too often, people delay in getting the health care they need
because they lack insurance or have poor coverage and they can’t
afford to pay the bills,” Cochran said. “We want everyone to
know that high-quality, affordable health care is accessible for
anyone at Keystone Health Center’s practices. Since 1992 our
doors have been open to all people, regardless of their ability
to pay.”
Keystone officials said that because of the success of the
nation’s Health Centers, which save future health care costs by
addressing patient needs early-on, President Bush has asked
Congress to increase funding for the program for fiscal 2005 by
$219 million.
They said that both the Institute of Medicine and the federal
General Accounting Office agree that health centers are models
for screening, diagnosing and managing chronic diseases –
reducing the need for future hospitalizations and referrals to
specialists, and as a result saving the state and federal
governments almost $3 billion in Medicaid costs annually.
“The increased support from the feds is much needed because
health centers are struggling with cutbacks in Medicaid and
rollbacks of eligibility, combined with state budget
shortfalls,” Cochran said. “At the same time the numbers of
uninsured and under-insured are rising. While the increased
federal funding will be a blessing, it’s always a struggle to
keep up with the demand.”
Cochran, always on the lookout for funds, and always trying to
educate officials about the need for affordable health care, has
been involved with committees on the state and federal levels –
keeping that focus on those in need – people who are treated
with respect and compassion at Keystone.
County Commission Chair Warren Elliott recently was almost at a
loss for words to describe Cochran’s dogged, determined efforts.
“Anybody who knows Joanne ... how should I put this ... knows of
her tireless and focused efforts not on behalf of herself or her
facility, but the people it serves,” he said. “Had this
(Keystone) not happened in 1986, you wonder where these 42,000
people would have been going (to get health care.)”
For more information on Keystone Health Center, visit the
organization's website at:
www.keystonehealth.com |
