20 community health centers across Mississippi provide care for more than 310,000 patients every year on a sliding fee scale, and often combine social and medical services under one roof.
That's because, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers, more than 70% of patients who utilize the clinics in the state live below the federal poverty line -- and rely on that combined approach not only to receive the care, but also to access it in the first place.
One such clinic is Family Health Center in Laurel, whose seven locations provide care to residents of a five county radius in southeast Mississippi.
Lee Smith, Director of Communications at Family Health Center, says transportation is often a barrier to accessing free or low-cost care.
“When you’re dealing in a setting like we are – very spread out – people do have transportation issues. Even if they’re in the same geographic area or city limits, sometimes getting from this side of town to that side can be a challenge.”
Through the expanded use of mobile units, Smith says FHC is able to get around those challenges by bringing care to where it’s needed most. But ongoing staffing shortages can make the work of providing care either in-clinic or on the road more difficult.
“Like so many other healthcare providers, we’re in a perpetual need of nurses, medical assistants and providers,” said Smith. “And I’d say that need is even more pronounced in a rural setting like ours.”
He says those shortages are due to a combination of factors: less residency programs being offered across the country in recent years, as well as difficulty attracting potential providers to a rural area like southeast Mississippi.
Staffing shortages are only worsened by ongoing debates over the federal budget, which in large part funds community health centers through the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Continued debate and even potential shutdowns make it difficult for these clinics to hire long term employees or plan beyond a few months into the future. Smith says he worries what the impact of these challenges combined can mean for achieving progress in healthcare across the state.
“Of course, Mississippi is known to have some of the worst health outcomes. So we’re in an area where some of our services are needed the most, and yet we oftentimes don’t have the resources we need to really move the needle on these outcomes.”
Since 2012, the number of those seeking care at community health centers has increased nearly 50% nationally – largely due to the closures of urban and rural hospitals.
