Health center invites Healy residents to needs assessment meeting

The meeting is a primary care community needs assessment.

Interior Community Health Center (ICHC) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Becky Taylor will discuss what ICHC does as a federally-qualified health center, then show the health risk and clinical outcome data the clinic has for ICHC service areas in both the Fairbanks North Star Borough and the Denali Borough.

A community needs discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Mike Walsh of the Foraker group.That is when residents will have a chance to share their opinions about health care services by the clinic. Lunch will be provided.

According to Denali Borough Mayor Chris Noel, a big part of this meeting will be education, making sure people know what a federally-qualified health care center is capable of providing.

“That education piece is ongoing so we as a community can understand what they can and cannot provide,” Noel said, speaking to the school board last week.

It is likely that some public comments at this meeting will cover staffing — currently, the clinic is open about four hours a week.

“They do have to perform this needs assessment,” said Noel. “They really are talking about outcomes, tracking metrics and it is in part, data driven. They also want to hear from the community.”

This is a chance to let clinic officials know firsthand what the health needs are, for people who live in the Denali Borough area.

The Interior Community Health website describes the center as a “mission-driven health center that is committed to providing quality health care ‘with a heart.’”

“Our Health clinic provides services to all community members, including those with limited income,” according to the website. “To help make coverage affordable, ICHC offers a sliding fee discount, based on income level and household size. Our sliding fee discount is available to patients with or without insurance coverage.”