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SouthRiver Community Health Center Receives National Healthcare Delivery Award

SouthRiver Community Health Center – a Patient Centered Primary Care Home serving the greater Winston area – was selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as one of 1,304 health centers throughout the U.S. to receive national funding to expand current quality improvement systems and infrastructure to improve primary care service delivery. “We are especially proud of the work being done at SouthRiver Community Health Center and are honored to be selected for this award,” said Dr. Gregory Brigham, CEO of Adapt and SouthRiver Community Health Center.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) release, more than $100 million will go to health centers in recognition of their achievement in providing high quality comprehensive care. Quoting Dr. Mary Wakefield, HHS Acting Deputy Secretary, “Millions of Americans rely on health centers to provide them with quality health care. These quality improvement awards will support health centers to continue to deliver superior health care that engages patients, improves care coordination and bridges overall access to care.”

SouthRiver Community Health Center is a Tier 3 Patient Centered Primary Care Home—the highest designation awarded by the Oregon Health Authority. In 2015, SouthRiver provided 12,986 clinical service visits to 2,851 patients, an increase of 183 patients over the previous year.  According to Dr. Brigham, “The addition of new clinical staff has led to improvements in patient care coordination, and enhanced care for patients with complex and co-occurring health conditions.”  Work is currently underway to build an integrated care team to increase access to treatment for behavioral health and substance use conditions that may contribute to poor physical health.

Health centers receive these funds based upon high levels of performance in one or more of the following categories: Improving Quality of Care, Advancing Health Equity, Maintaining Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition, Enhancing Access to Care, and Delivering Value.  SouthRiver Community Health Center was one of just five health centers in Oregon recognized for achieving the best overall clinical performance among all health centers.

The quality improvement funding comes from the Affordable Care Act’s Community Health Center Fund, which was extended with bipartisan support in the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) of 2015. For a list of the 2016 Quality Improvement Awards recipients, visit: https://bit.ly/2LMRQrb