Helping Hands Health And Wellnesscenter

PROVIDE FAITH BASED MEDICAL CARE

THE MISSION OF THE HELPING HANDS HEALTH AND WELLNESS CENTER (HHHWC) IS TO BE THE CARING HANDS OF JESUS TO PROVIDE MEDICAL CARE, HEALTH EDUCATION, COUNSELING AND SOCIAL SERVICES TO THOSE WITH NEEDS. HHHWC IS A FAITH-BASED FREE MEDICAL CLINIC THAT PROVIDES FAMILY MEDICINE AND SOCIAL SERVICES CARE TO MEDICALLY UNINSURED AND UNDERINSURED ADULTS WHOSE INCOME IS AT OR BELOW 400 PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL POVERTY GUIDELINES. IN 2022, THE CLINIC HAS SEEN A VARIETY OF CHANGES, FROM THE HIRING OF A NEW DIRECTOR OF NURSING TO THE ENGAGEMENT IN A SIGNIFICANT CLINIC IMPROVEMENT PROJECT. WHILE COVID-19 IMPACTED THE CLINIC'S OPERATIONS LESS THIS YEAR, THE VIRUS IS STILL A CONCERN, AND THE CLINIC'S TEAM RECOGNIZES THAT TELEHEALTH IS HERE TO STAY. AS SUCH, HHHWC INVESTED IN PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS FOR ITS HYBRID PATIENT CARE MODEL AND, AS A RESULT, THE CLINIC THRIVED IN 2022, SERVING 650 PATIENTS WITH 904 PATIENT VISITS. OVERALL, HHHWC PROVIDED A TOTAL OF 2,554 SERVICES TO ITS PATIENTS. THE CLINIC'S TEAM OF STAFF MEMBERS, BOARD MEMBERS, VOLUNTEERS, SUPPORTERS, AND PATIENTS REMAIN FOCUSED ON IMPROVING CLINIC OPERATIONS IN ORDER TO MAKE THE CLINIC'S PROCESSES AS PATIENT-FOCUSED AS POSSIBLE. HHHWC SERVES PATIENTS WHO ARE MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AND LACKING ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE CARE. IN 2022, 89% OF THE CLINIC'S PATIENTS WERE UNINSURED AND 11% WERE UNDERINSURED. HHHWC SAW A TOTAL OF 650 PATIENTS, WITH 459 PATIENTS BEING FIRST-TIME PATIENTS. AS IN PREVIOUS YEARS, THE CLINIC'S PATIENTS ARE PRIMARILY FEMALE; 63% OF THE CLINIC'S PATIENTS IDENTIFY AS WOMEN AND 37% IDENTIFY AS MEN. LOOKING AT THE AGES OF HHHWC'S PATIENT POPULATION, 13% OF CLINIC VISITS WERE PATIENTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 18 AND 29, 14% WERE PATIENTS BETWEEN 30 AND 39, 27% WERE PATIENTS BETWEEN THE 40 AND 49, 23% WERE PATIENTS BETWEEN 50 AND 59, 10% WERE PATIENTS BETWEEN 60 AND 64, AND 14% WERE PATIENTS OVER THE AGE OF 65. NO ONE AGE GROUP SEEMS TO NEED MORE SERVICES THAN THE OTHERS; PATIENTS OF ALL AGES NEED ACCESS TO MEDICAL CARE. COMPARING THESE 2022 AGE FIGURES TO THOSE IN 2021, THERE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN ANY PARTICULAR AGE RANGE. HHHWC DOES NOT PUT GEOGRAPHIC LIMITS ON WHO IT SERVES AND OFFER CARE TO ANY AND ALL UNDERTREATED ADULT PATIENTS. THE GREATEST NUMBERS OF PATIENTS COME FROM COLUMBUS AND FRANKLIN COUNTY. HOWEVER, THE CLINIC TREATED PATIENTS FROM 22 ZIP CODES OUTSIDE OF FRANKLIN COUNTY IN 2022. DURING CLINIC VISITS IN 2022, 69% OF PATIENTS IDENTIFIED THEMSELVES AS BLACK, 5% AS ASIAN, 15% AS WHITE, AND 11% AS OTHER OR NOT IDENTIFIED. THESE PERCENTAGES DO NOT APPEAR TO SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFER FOR THE REPORTED NUMBERS IN 2021. HISTORICALLY, THE CLINIC HAS SERVED A PRIMARILY MINORITY POPULATION. BECAUSE OF THE DIVERSITY OF THE CLINIC'S PATIENT POPULATION, IT IS ALSO IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THE PRIMARY LANGUAGES OF PATIENTS. WITH COLUMBUS AND CENTRAL OHIO BECOMING INCREASINGLY DIVERSE, HHHWC UTILIZES MARTTI TO PROVIDE INTERPRETATION SERVICES FOR OVER 250 LANGUAGES. THIS VARIETY OF LANGUAGES IS CRUCIAL TO THE CLINIC BECAUSE 25% OF PATIENTS IN 2022 DID NOT REPORT ENGLISH AS THEIR PRIMARY LANGUAGE. TO LOOK AT THE INDIVIDUAL IMPACT OF EACH OF THE CLINIC'S PROGRAMS, THE FREE CARE PROGRAM SHOULD BE HIGHLIGHTED FIRST. THE FREE CARE PROGRAM OPERATES WEEKLY ON TUESDAYS AND THURSDAY AND PROVIDED 864 PRIMARY CARE VISITS IN 2022. WHILE PRIMARY CARE IS THE MAIN SERVICE AT HHHWC, THE FREE CARE PROGRAM ALSO PROVIDED 475 SOCIAL SERVICES VISITS, 282 TB SKIN TESTS, 685 BLOOD DRAWS, AND 108 SPECIALTY REFERRALS. THE WOMEN'S HEALTH PROGRAM IS THE CLINIC'S OTHER PROGRAM AND IT OFFERS FREE PAP TESTS, PELVIC EXAMS, AND CLINICAL BREAST EXAMS ON TO THE CLINIC'S FEMALE PATIENTS ON A MONTHLY BASIS. WITH THE WOMEN'S HEALTH PROGRAM UNDERGOING PROGRAM CHANGES TO VOLUNTEER PROVIDERS AND SCHEDULING IN 2022, THE PROGRAM WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE 40 PATIENTS WITH 140 SERVICES. THE HHHWC IS ALWAYS PROUD TO PROMOTE ITS PROGRAM SUCCESSES. HOWEVER, NONE OF THESE SUCCESSES WOULD BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE STEADFAST CORPS OF SUPPORTERS THAT INCLUDE VOLUNTEERS, BOARD MEMBERS, AND DONORS. WHEN THE STAFF TEAM ASKED FOR MORE, THE CLINIC'S SUPPORTERS STEPPED UP WITHOUT HESITATION. WHEN THE STAFF TEAM ASKED FOR INPUT, THE CLINIC'S SUPPORTERS VOICED THE NEEDS OF THE PATIENTS AND THEIR OWN NEEDS AS VOLUNTEERS. HHHWC'S VOLUNTEERS DONATED OVER 1,500 HOURS OF SERVICES TO THE CLINIC IN 2022. THIS VOLUNTEER CORPS IS THE HEART OF THE CLINIC. THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THE MORE THAN 70 HHHWC VOLUNTEER TEAM PERFORMED APPROXIMATELY 2,500 HOURS OF SERVICE ON NEARLY EVERY PROGRAM SERVICE OFFERED THIS YEAR. DURING 2022 WE HAD APPROXIMATELY 30 LICENSED VOLUNTEERS INCLUDING ACCOUNTANTS, ATTORNEYS, NURSES, PHARMACISTS AND PHYSICIANS PROVIDING 1,200 HOURS OF SERVICE. HHHWC VOLUNTEERS ARE THE UNSUNG HEROES OF 2022. HHHWC WORKS TO KEEP ITS SUPPORTERS INFORMED BY COMMUNICATING THROUGH ITS NEWSLETTERS, SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, MAILINGS, AND MEETINGS.