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United Health Foundation Funds Model Community Clinic to Restore Health Services in Post-Katrina New Orleans

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 August 2006, 15:00 CDT

United Health Foundation:

-- Multi-Year Million-Dollar Annual Grant to Fund EXCELth Primary Care Network's Daughters of Charity Health Center - St. Cecilia

-- Clinic is Fourth 'Center of Excellence' Health Care Model Supported by United Health Foundation

United Health Foundation, supported by UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH), announced it will provide a $1 million per year grant for an initial three years to the EXCELth Primary Care Network to establish a model community-based health "Center of Excellence" in the Bywater area of New Orleans.

The establishment of this clinic is a direct result of multi-stakeholder state, regional and local health planning organized under the Partnership for Access to Healthcare (PATH) in the aftermath of the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. These groups have identified this clinic and its location as a priority requirement for the future of health care services in New Orleans.

Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said: "I am pleased that our State's health department, the New Orleans Health Department, our major state academic health science centers, EXCELth, the Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans and Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans, among others, have demonstrated this unprecedented collaboration. Working together and leveraging their collective resources, they have achieved what no one organization could have alone. Our state is grateful to United Health Foundation for its generosity in transforming these plans into reality so that our citizens have access to the quality health care they need."

The new clinic, called the Daughters of Charity Health Center - St. Cecilia, will serve the Bywater neighborhood and the Ninth Ward. It will help restore and expand delivery of health services in an area that was heavily impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The center's location is especially important because of the number of residents returning to the area. The Daughters of Charity Health Center - St. Cecilia is designed to fit the model of three other community-based "Centers of Excellence" developed and supported by United Health Foundation in conjunction with local community and academic centers. The goal of each of these clinics is to provide immediate and sustained access to the best possible health care for people in communities with significant and often unique health care needs.

New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin said: "Access to quality health care is a cornerstone for revitalizing our local community. This Daughters of Charity Health Center in Bywater is testimony to the faith and confidence people have in New Orleans and I appreciate their willingness to invest in our City and people by providing access to quality health care for our citizens."

William W. McGuire, M.D., Chairman of the United Health Foundation, said: "Our collaboration with Louisiana state and local officials and public health organizations is helping establish a new standard of health care excellence for communities burdened by significant health care challenges. Preliminary academic data shows that community-based health centers such as those previously established with the support of United Health Foundation that provide care to economically challenged, medically underserved communities compare favorably to national benchmarks for clinical quality and patient satisfaction and are high performers in preventive interventions. These preliminary but promising results show that health centers are not simply high-quality providers for medically underserved populations, but are also high-quality providers of primary care for all groups of patients. We are enthusiastic about working with the administration and medical staff at this clinic to provide knowledge and support to optimally serve children and families in the Bywater neighborhood. We believe the Daughters of Charity Health Center - St. Cecilia will be a springboard for fostering clinical excellence throughout the region."

The Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans, a member of the EXCELth Primary Care Network, will administer the center's day-to-day operations. EXCELth will employ the medical staff and will be responsible for clinical services. The center will be housed in a fully equipped clinic within a renovated former church and rectory at 4201 North Rampart, New Orleans, on the grounds of the Shirley Landry Benson PACE Center, a project of Catholic Charities. In response to community needs, special areas of clinical excellence will include diabetic care, pediatric asthma management, HIV outreach, behavioral health and preventive health services.

"Community-based, integrated quality preventive and clinical care delivery is the future of health in New Orleans," said Clayton Williams, executive director of PATH, Louisiana Public Health Institute. "With United Health Foundation's commitment, PATH and its community partners are building a model for our region."

Michael A. Andry, CEO of EXCELth Primary Care Network, said: "As a federally qualified health center operator, I am excited by our responsibility to ensure that the community will have an active role in the center's design and operation. It will be a cornerstone of the area's health care safety net, facilitating the growth and coordination of other related health and social services. It signals the future of health centers that must be opened or modified to assure their communities they will receive the same quality of care that will be modeled here in Bywater."

United Health Foundation Centers of Excellence

United Health Foundation is committed to increasing access to quality health care for all Americans. Its efforts help thousands of adults and children access quality, comprehensive care that might otherwise be unavailable. The "Centers of Excellence" model emphasizes preventive care, coordination of care and the use of nationally recognized standards of treatment, tailored to the unique needs of each community in collaboration with local care providers. The Centers are thus replicable throughout the country, while responsive to the unique needs and circumstances of each community. In addition to the Daughters of Charity Health Center - St. Cecilia, the Foundation has provided multi-year grants to three other community clinics to establish "Centers of Excellence." United Health Foundation grants have been provided to New York City-based Children's Health Fund to support children and families in the Bronx; Unity Health Care, Inc., to support the Congress Heights/Anacostia area of Washington, D.C.; and to the Jefferson Reaves, Sr. Health Center to provide care to the Overtown community in Miami, Florida.

United Health Foundation

United Health Foundation is an independent not-for-profit foundation solely funded by UnitedHealth Group. The Foundation provides information to physicians and other health professionals, individuals and communities to support health and medical decisions that lead to better health outcomes and healthier communities. For further information, please visit www.unitedhealthfoundation.org.

Source: Business Wire

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