Memorial Medical Center Secures Grant
for Health Services Agency
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Catherine Larsen, (209) 525-3106.
MODESTO – February 23, 2010 – Memorial Medical Center recently endorsed – and helped secure – nearly $200,000 in grant funding for the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency (HSA) through Sutter Health’s Community Clinic Access to Care grant program. The funding includes a $99,748 award from Sutter Health and $100,000 from Memorial. The grant represents a portion of the funding that Sutter Health has awarded to medical and dental care centers across Northern California that serve large percentages of low-income, uninsured and underinsured patients.
As a not-for-profit organization, Memorial is dedicated to improving and maintaining the health status of our community and extends services such as this grant whenever possible to meet a critical need and enhance the productivity of local resources.
The HSA is a primary care safety net provider that provides care for patients with mental health issues who are not typically served by other mental health systems in the community. This grant will assist the HSA clinic to expand its outreach and provide behavioral health services to a greater population of patients. 5 total clinical social workers were hired and are in place for twenty hours per week on site at the clinics. Due to the grant monies there has been a substantial increase in mental health services to primary care physicians and is being offered to all patients regardless of payer source. As a primary care safety net provider, HSA sees patients with mental health issues that are not typically served by other mental health systems in the community.
Memorial has collaborated with HSA for more than ten years, and partnering in a number of community health improvement projects that benefit Stanislaus County’s underserved population. In 2008, Memorial and Sutter Health combined their resources to present a similar grant to HSA to initiate its current integrated behavioral health project.
The Community Clinic Access to Care grant program is a commitment by the Sutter Health network of physicians, not-for-profit hospitals and other health care providers to improve access to needed health care services in the communities we serve for persons who cannot afford to pay. This one-time funding opportunity enables Sutter Health and its local affiliates to support health clinics that are providing vital services to individuals and families in need.
Memorial Medical Center is part of Sutter Health, a family of not-for-profit hospitals, physician organizations and other medical services that share resources and expertise to advance health care quality and access. Serving more than 100 communities in Northern California, Sutter Health is a regional leader in cardiac care, cancer treatment, orthopedics, obstetrics, and newborn intensive care, and is a pioneer in advanced patient safety technology.
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