A well-baby checkup always brings smiles to a happy mom and CCI staff alike. Maintaining good health is a priority for CCI and the families we serve. The staff encourage parents to bring their children in for the recommended ten visits for check-ups and immunizations before age two. At this visit, Dr. Rachel Witten, pediatrician, completes her medical exam with the help of Center Manager and Spanish-translator Elisa Ramadan. CCI is the largest provider of primary care in Montgomery County to indigent children and adults with medical needs. This year, CCI also enrolled the largest number of participants in the state’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition education and food supplement program. All in all, providers and professional staff welcomed more than 25,000 individuals who made a total 56,298 visits to the agency’s six centers.

Message from the Chair

Message from the Executive Director

Message from the Medical Director

Performance Improvement Committee Report

Program Committee Report

Finance Committee Report

CCI Partners 2004-2005

Message from the Chair
Eric W. Padmore

Community Clinic takes meeting the challenge of health disparities seriously. Every health maintenance program, new and continuing, focuses on at least one aspect of closing the gap between those who have advantages and those who do not. Most often, these advantages align with economic prosperity; our mission of service is broader than that. We concentrate on leveling the field so everyone can achieve good health for themselves and their families.

Step back a minute with me, look at the big picture, and you’ll recognize the proliferation of disparities in healthcare delivery. Tackling the issue since 1972, CCI doesn’t need to ask “Where to begin?” More than 30 years ago, the mission to provide healthcare in a nondiscriminatory manner was adopted by the Board of Directors, and that mission remains unchanged. To this day, patients are eligible for services at a free or reduced cost per visit based on income and health risk factors. With a significant number of minority patients with medical needs coming to CCI regularly, we are confident the population represents a microcosm of the larger community. And so we welcome our patients and their families, and we constantly review, analyze, and evaluate what we offer so we are in tune with their needs. This process is how CCI ‘Addresses Healthcare Dispartities’ and follows the roadmap for effective service.

Here are some poignant examples of CCI programs that work well for closing the gap. For decades, CCI has offered free health services to self-disclosed homeless persons, in partnership with Healthcare for the Homeless, Inc. Sliding scale fees are discussed with all patients, individuals and families, who struggle with how much disposable income can go toward health care. Six locations provide access throughout the county for professional medical and nutrition attention. The CCI/WIC program has expanded every year since 1996 when it started with 7,600 participants and now enrolls more than 18,500 women, infants and children up to age five.
And in addition to the comprehensive array of programs that guide our daily business, we are constantly adjusting our offerings focused on specialized needs of more complex patients. Disparities exist in the general delivery of health care for minority populations; we know it, we see it every day, and we are tackling the issue aggressively. CCI is an active member of the National Healthcare Disparities Collaborative for diabetes and hypertension. On our local level, CCI employs certified diabetes instructors who teach classes in English and Spanish for patients to manage their chronic illness. We provide the test kits and offer personal health counseling too. Our pediatric population, again mostly minority, presents with asthma more often than other demographies. So each clinic location has a private room for nebulizer treatments.

This year, new efforts are underway to address additional disparities that are coming to light in the national health picture, and we are seeing them on the local level. Childhood obesity is an emerging crisis and we are offering real solutions. With a focus on increased movement through family engagement, and a “food as fuel” philosophy, culturally sensitive CCI nutritionists have developed a program attractive to ethnic lifestyles and are seeing real results. The new 340B federal discount pharmacy program is a lifesaver for children and adults who need medicine to get and stay well; now they do not have to make the tough choice of getting a prescription filled or paying for food and shelter. A new partnership with the Latin American Cancer Research Coalition is an opportunity for our providers to share clinical data about our large immigrant population’s indigenous health risks, and benefit from the research results in the health center setting.

The goal is not just to reduce disparities. At CCI, we want to be a force in eradicating them. The energy, interest and commitment are here. The opportunities present themselves. The follow-up is undeterred. And the present and future for our patients and their families is improved because of the effort and results.
Thank you for your active interest and support for CCI.