Welch Visits Bellows Falls Health Center

By Howard Weiss-Tisman

BELLOWS FALLS -- Vermont’s newest federally qualified health center got a visit Monday from one of the program’s biggest supporters.

Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., toured the Rockingham Medical Group in the morning.

The Bellows Falls health center received stimulus funding earlier this year that allowed it to qualify for federally qualified health center status, which provides reimbursement and grant opportunities for hospitals that offer primary care, mental health and dental services for uninsured and underinsured patients.

Rockingham Medical Group became the eighth federally qualified health center in Vermont when the stimulus funding was announced in March.

Welch is back in Vermont during the congressional summer recess and he stopped by the Bellows Falls facility to see how the hospital was operating with its new federal designation.

"We all support this program," Welch said about the rest of the state’s congressional delegation who all have worked to fund the program, which supporters say plays a crucial role in addressing the health care crisis in America. "This program lets communities like this be more successful."

Competition to be accepted as a federally qualified health center is fierce, Rockingham Medical Group Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Sanctuary said before Welch showed up for his tour.

The Rockingham health center applied for years, and was on a waiting list when the $650,000 in stimulus money allowed them to enter the program.

As a federally qualified health center, the non-profit hospital must serve anyone who comes in for care regardless of insurance status.

The hospital, in turn, receives a guarantee from the federal government for a portion of the medical reimbursement costs.

Federally qualified health centers have access to special federal grants and can purchase medicine through a reduced federal prescription program.

"We now see anyone, regardless of their ability to pay," Sanctuary said. "This is also going to allow us to see more patients and we are trying to get the word out to let people know."

The medical center recently launched an access line to answer questions about the federal designation: 802-885-7604.

The Rockingham center is owned and run by Springfield Medical Care Systems. Chief Executive Officer Glenn Cordner said all of the centers within the Springfield system will be able to serve more patients, while at the same time reaching them before a problem grows serious enough that the patient ends up in the emergency room.

"We hope that over time we will be able to increase our primary, preventative care," Cordner said. "That is really what this is all about."

Federally qualified health centers must provide primary, as well as mental health and dental care, and Welch was led around both floors of the hospital Monday.

Cordner explained that the Springfield organization was still rolling out its new programs under the federal system and would be expanding outreach in the coming months to make sure potential patients throughout southeastern Vermont knew about the options they have under the new system.

"The federal government sees this as an investment. In the long run, it saves money," he said. "By increasing access to preventative, primary care there is the hope that people will not end up in the emergency room with problems that can be prevented. We’re hoping to increase the number of people we see so everyone can get care whether they can pay for it or not."