Printer-friendly format

As part of the Safety Net Consortium of Tennessee, Bridges to Care (BTC) helps link Nashville’s uninsured with providers for primary care, specialty care, dental and mental health services.

“The objective was to help uninsured residents of Davidson County obtain quality healthcare at a price they could afford,” Fonda Harris, executive director of BTC, said of the program’s February 2002 launch.

She added that although many resources were already in place, creating Bridges to Care, which is administered by Nashville’s Metro Public Health Department, provided a coordinated effort in addressing the issue of access.

Harris noted that approximately 35 safety net clinics partner with BTC, such as Siloam, United Neighborhood Health Services, Faith Family and Matthew Walker, plus many hospital-run clinics, including those of Saint Thomas Health Services, Meharry and Vanderbilt. Additionally, she said, all nine hospitals and more than 600 local physicians are part of the Bridges to Care Plus (BTC Plus) program, a provider network for specialty care and inpatient services.

BTC contracts with Catholic Charities of Tennessee, the Nashville Academy of Medicine, General Hospital at Meharry and Kroger pharmacies to carry out various services. St. Thomas Foundation serves as the fiscal and legal home of the Safety Net Consortium.

While still an issue, the use of area emergency rooms as an entry point into the healthcare system has decreased since BTC began working with the uninsured to find a medical home at area clinics.

“If you have a medical home, you’re much more likely to see a provider on a regular, consistent basis and not just when an emergency arises,” Harris pointed out.

As a matter of fact, one of the requirements for enrollment in BTC is an agreement to use hospital emergency departments only in case of a true emergency. Recognizing that access issues extend beyond linking patients and providers, Bridges to Care also works to eliminate other barriers to care by offering support services, including translation, transportation and community outreach programs.

The cost of care in the BTC program ranges from free to a fee-based schedule tied to income as decided by clinic partners. For BTC Plus, family income cannot exceed 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and patients are expected to be responsible for a $10 co-pay for office visits with specialists.

“We are very proud of the work we have accomplished since the beginning of the program,” said Harris. “We have enrolled over 41,000 uninsured residents of Nashville/Davidson County to a medical home since our inception. We have filled over 173,000 prescriptions and provided over 6,000 transports to medical services.”

She added that with the BTC Plus program, which began in March 2005, providers have donated more than 4,000 patient office visits, approximately 580 diagnostic tests, about 175 inpatient hospital days and 240 outpatient surgery procedures.

“We have operated the BTC Plus program at about $330,000, but the value of our services has been over $7 million worth of care … the return on investment is outstanding,” Harris said.

Recently, Bridges to Care received national recognition and a substantial grant as one of three organizations to receive a Mutual of America Community Partnership Award.

Harris credits much of the program’s success to the willingness of healthcare providers in Nashville to lend a hand.

“They really have a heart for helping this community,” she said of the organization’s large network.

Next on Harris’ agenda is to replicate the program in the 12 counties surrounding Nashville.

“For the last two and a half years, we’ve been trying to expand into the Mid-Cumberland region. To date, we’ve not been able to secure funding, but we’re still hopeful we’ll be able to expand in the near future.”


Getting Involved

Patients: If you have patients who might benefit from the Bridges to Care program, they should call Catholic Charities at 760-2799 or go online to www.btc.nashville.gov. To be eligible for services, an individual must be without health insurance and reside in Davidson County.

Providers: The Nashville Academy of Medicine, which can be reached at 327-1236, oversees the Bridges to Care Plus program and is always happy to add physicians who want to lend a hand. You can also call Fonda Harris, executive director of Bridges to Care, to learn more about the program at 340-5686.



May 2008

Tags:

None

Login and voice your opinion!