Today I went to sit a couple of hours with my sister and then later in the morning attended the Montgomery County Health Clinic Board Meeting at our hospital. It was misting but not freezing. I was glad of that. I need to go to Independence tomorrow but won't go if it's freezing or snowing.
At our meeting, we took care of our business first and elected our officers (I was elected secretary) and heard our reports.
They wanted to meet there in Coffeyville so they could have Leadership Coffeyville meet with us. Leadership Coffeyville had a request for us. They want the clinic to be open more then one evening a week in Coffeyville. We would love to do that and it is in our future plans but not right now. Right now we are operating in Coffeyville every Tuesday evening from 4 - 7 with volunteer doctors and nurses. We see 13 - 16 patients in that time. We do not presently have the resources to be open any more than that. In Independence we have hired a nurse practitioner and are open four days a week. It took us three years to work the grant financing for that.
They suggested we hire a nurse practitioner for Coffeyville and we agreed that would be great but it costs $75,000 a year to hire one and that would require another separate grant and let's face it, money is very tight right now everywhere.
Eventually, when the health care crisis is over in Washington, we will submit a request to become a FQHC (Federally Qualified Health Clinic) and we will have the resources but then, because we will be required to accept anyone who walks through the door and not just the uninsured, we will be in competition with the doctors and hospital and the hospital will not be willing to give us the space.
So, it's not that simple.
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