Kenosha---No mismanagement or chicanery going on here. That in essence was the message delivered by Kenosha Community Health Center Executive Director Mary Coffey during Monday's taping of Tuesday's "Morning Show."
Coffey was invited on after members of the Kenosha City Council expressed concerns about the clinic's operation. They've been getting constituent complaints of delayed service--particularly in the dental area--while at the same time hearing of plans by the center to expand into Racine and Silver Lake. Further irritation occurred after center officials declined an offer to appear before the full council to answer questions.
Possibly setting some minds at ease, Coffey indicated that the clinic recently passed a comprehensive, 160-point federal review that takes place every 18 months. "I'm happy to say we did very well," said Coffey. "Not perfect--nobody is," she added.
But the only outstanding issue yet to be addressed is recruiting more patients to sit on the center's board of directors.
Any concerns expressed by dental patients could be the result of a new philosophy of more timely patient follow through as opposed to seeing as many patients as quickly as possible. The change--which involved laying off some dental hygienists--was part of a plan developed in part by a consulting firm. "We just didn't do this on our own," said Coffey.
As for the expansion issue, the clinic has secured new money to fund those endeavors. "When you take on new projects through the federal government you can't take things away," she said of the projects' potential impact on Kenosha.
The center won a federal grant to establish a clinic to serve a significant number of Kenosha County residents who live west of I-94 who say that the drive to the center's east-side location is burdensome. A $500,000 grant from Aurora was used to equip a mobile van to serve Racine, a community that recently lost a clinic that was comparable to the KCHC.
Throughout the interview, Coffey spoke of the numerous challenges of running a clinic that's designed to help low-income residents who either have little or no insurance. 50,000 people who live in Kenosha County fall into that category, she said. Last year the center saw just over 21,000 patients.
Also a concern---recruiting enough doctors and dentists in a tight market.
The complete Coffey Morning Show interview will be available on the wgtd.org home page immediately following its 8:10a to 9a broadcast.
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