NOTE: While coronavirus is extremely deadly, people are still suffering from other serious medical ailments. The Community Health Alliance is now working with Uber Health so the most vulnerable patients in Washoe County can be taken to their own vital medical appointments.
“A large percentage of our patients are elderly or dependent on public transportation. CHA has always been committed to providing high quality healthcare, and ensuring our patients can safely seek the care they need, with reliable transportation, is more critical than ever,” said CHA CEO Oscar Delgado in a press release today.
The release goes to explain: For medical visits that do not necessitate an in-person visit, CHA is treating patients via telemedicine for both primary and behavioral health, as well as offering drive-up visits for patients who are most vulnerable. This will allow CHA to minimize unnecessary physical contact, while still providing care to the community. Additionally, both the CHA program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), as well as the pharmacy, have designed curbside pick-up for breast pumps, formula and prescriptions, among other patient needs.
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A New CEO Building Awareness for its Services
“There's a [saying] around town that we're the best kept secret,” Delgado said at a recent relaunch event, before the coronavirus pandemic imposed a nationwide shutdown. “My goal is to make sure that everyone knows that we exist, we have services that are available, that we have great providers, and that we're not the stale clinic that some people may imagine when you walk into a community clinic. My goal is to make sure that we are a strong backbone in providing primary care for working families across the region.”
As a federally-qualified health organization operating seven primary care health centers in Washoe County, CHA plays a crucial role in providing health care to our community’s most vulnerable citizens.
“In a way to [serve vulnerable communities] there really is a need to embed yourself within those communities,” Delgado said. “And we're at ground zero. We actually have a clinic at the Record street Community Assistance Center where we serve the homeless that walk into our clinics, at no cost.”
“It’s our mission to provide quality, accessible healthcare to everyone,” Delgado said. “No matter your background, no matter your economic background, no matter anything, no questions. Whoever walks through the door, we'll provide care for you.”
The healthcare services CHA provides its patients covers a wide breadth of care: from pediatric, dental, behavioral, optometric, to fully primary. In order to provide specialized care to their patients, CHA partners with various organizations in Reno. It also has mobile events for dental care, a pantry at its headquarters on Wells Avenue and a pharmacy.
“Our vision is to make sure that we are the trusted bridge to any other organization in town that is working with demographics that we serve,” Delgado said. “We partner heavily with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, Hopes, The Boys and Girls Club and the Eddy House. So [the goal is for] somebody that walks into their nonprofits and has a healthcare concern, that they'll know that we're a trusted partner and we'll get them seen as soon as possible.”
Ricardo Lucio is a long-time beneficiary of CHA who is now serving on its Board.
From Patient to Board Member
“I've been a patient of the Community Health Alliance for nine years now,” Ricardo Lucio said. “Growing up in the Wells Avenue community, you're very appreciative to have this type of practice in your community that provides excellent and affordable health services to you, whether it be medical, dental, or any other type of service. You always feel like family when they help you.”
To Lucio, CHA is more than just a community health care provider. They are an organization that is breaking the stigma of what affordable health care represents.
“A lot of people think that just because health services are expensive, that they don't have access to them,” Lucio said. “But Community Health Alliance provides affordable health services and a lot of people don't know about them, but they have them now in seven locations.”
Jenelle Stathes is a former teacher and mother of three, who says she understands the need for an organization like CHA in the community.
Local Needs
“I taught in a school where the only reason we couldn't have outdoor recess was because children didn't have coats when it was snowing,” Jenelle Stathes said. “If a child is sick, they need to be seen, Mom's snuggles and chicken soup can only go so far with a viral or bacterial infection. They need to be able to have a prescription to get better, especially with the attendance restrictions through the Washoe County School District. As a mother now, I always think of children and if my child can't be seen by a doctor, I know it's an even bigger problem for somebody who can't afford for their child to be seen by a doctor and that's heartbreaking.”
Stathes was particularly impressed by the messages shared by Delgado and Lucio.
“Hearing Oscar discuss the mission of CHA and then hearing from the patient that's now on the board discuss how CHA has impacted his life, it's just such a reminder of how vital a program like this is for our city.”
Ariel Rayo is a Community Health Services Representative at SilverSummit Healthplan.
An Insurer’s Perspective
“I believe, first of all, that preventative healthcare is a very important issue in Reno,” Ariel Rayo, who works in health insurance, said. “The more we have people taking care of their health by doing preventative healthcare activities, the less hospital visits we have, and the less ER visits we have, is less money that was spent. Then we have a lot of people who are under-insured or just not insured because their jobs do not provide insurance, they're contracted, or they just don't really qualify for any health insurance because of legal status, age, income, whatever the reason it is. So having a Community Health Alliance helps a lot because nobody gets rejected, they all get service.”
Rayo is confident that Delgado is the right man for the job in leading CHA forward.
“[Delgado]'s a true advocate for the underserved community as a councilman,” Rayo said. “He cares about our community and Reno. So it's really nice to have that advocate person for our people.”
Rayo is also impressed by Lucio’s presence on CHA’s Board.
“[Lucio] is a true example of a person who was at one point underserved because of his legal status or level of income. That's a true story of how this agency is coming to serve a great purpose in the community.”
Frank Perez has been on the Board of CHA for the past two years.
Open Doors with Sliding Scale Fees
“If you don't have insurance or if you do have insurance, that's not a big part with us,” Frank Perez, another board member, said. “We do a sliding scale fee to work with our patients and make sure that people don't get turned away. Regardless of people's citizenship status, they don't get turned away either. Our doors open, 100%.”
Having seen firsthand the new changes in direction for CHA, Perez is excited for what is to come under Delgado’s leadership.
“Oscar is going to bring another level of connection to the community as far as events like this,” Perez said. “This [Meet and Greet] is to me a very successful event where we're building a web with other folks in the community and building a stronger web. [Delgado] did say that CHA doesn't have to be a secret anymore.”
“It’s really imperative to me that when people walk through our doors they feel that they are getting quality care, but also a sense of trust and respect,” Delgado said. “A lot of the families that we serve, I see as my family. We actually do see some of my family members that walked through those doors. What's important to me is that they feel no different walking through our clinics than they would going to any other private hospital or anywhere else.”
Room for More Growth
Delgado says he hopes to see CHA expand to continue serving communities it hasn’t reached yet.
“There's a lot of communities out there that's still not being served,” Delgado said. “We need to hire more providers, open more clinics, [acquire] more square footage, and [hire] more social workers. It's only right that our neighbors are healthy, that everyone is healthy.”
As a native Nevadan, Delgado is excited to be able to further strengthen Reno’s communities and share CHA’s mission with them.
“There's not one entity that can do it alone,” Delgado said. “It’s understanding the importance of building bridges and everyone working together in order to make sure we provide the best circumstances to make sure our families are successful in our community. I know that our community cares about that, so I'm excited to share that vision.”