Grantee Story
Summit Community Care Clinic
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Steve Crain’s life spun out of control last fall. When the economy took a dive, this self-employed carpenter and handyman had no health insurance.
For Crain, 51, regular health care was a luxury that came only rarely when he scored a long-term job, like building a school. Otherwise, he prayed to stay well and paid his own way.
But he was suddenly faced with a one-two punch. A stubborn kidney stone tortured him for several weeks. Then, a friend’s unexpected death sent him reeling. For the first time in his life, Crain sought help at one of Colorado’s safety-net clinics, the Summit Community Care Clinic, which offers integrated medical, dental and mental health care to the working poor.
Health experts at the clinic, which charges patients based on their income, helped Crain endure the kidney stone and reduced his trips to the ER where bills would have been in the thousands. They also counseled him as he quit drinking and overcame the depression triggered by his young friend’s death.
Then, the clinic literally saved his life. Doctors insisted that Crain get a free colonoscopy through the statewide Colorado Colorectal Screening Program (CCSP). They removed pre-cancerous polyps and are currently monitoring him to keep this dangerous, but preventable cancer at bay. “The clinic saw me through,” Crain said. “They saved my life.’’
As the economic downturn has gripped communities across Colorado, more and more working people have turned to safety-net clinics for help. In Summit County, Executive Director Sarah Vaine has seen previously self-sufficient realtors and business owners, like Crain, walk through the door. “We have a beautiful facility and everyone is treated well, but it can be a blow to someone’s pride to need help,” Vaine said. “Our patients work. Many are working a lot – two or three jobs – but they don’t qualify for Medicaid and can’t afford insurance, or pay for their own care.”
Clinics across Colorado are also treating sicker patients as people put off doctor visits too long. Vaine has seen case after case where a small problem festers, resulting in higher costs when health problems escalate. For example, a man was bitten by a dog and, because he had no insurance, he didn’t see a doctor. An infection took hold and he ended up in the hospital with a $10,000 bill.
“For a person living paycheck to paycheck, a bill like that is crippling,” Vaine said. “The initial visit would have been $20 and the antibiotics would have been $8.” So she and managers at clinics across Colorado are reaching out to the working poor, to encourage them to get help early.
Colorado’s 66 non-federally funded safety-net clinics are affiliated with ClinicNET, a nonprofit service organization that works on behalf of the clinics to improve their visibility and recognition as key health care providers to Colorado’s most vulnerable populations.
With a three-year grant from The Colorado Trust, ClinicNET Executive Director Sharon Adams will facilitate online and in-person meetings among clinic managers to share information about health care policies, best practices and programs that improve patient care.
ClinicNET also helps clinics track and share data about their patients – including income, employment and location – to more fully quantify the care they deliver. Data gathering and reporting also help clinics to qualify for support from sources such as the Primary Care Fund, which directs tobacco tax revenue to expand health care for children and low-income populations.
Additionally, Adams is working with clinics to institute programs like CCSP that proved so critical to Steve Crain. “I couldn’t have made it on my own,’’ he said. “You feel welcome at the clinic. They don’t make you feel bad if you can only pay $10. If you want help, you can get it.”
