PHILADELPHIA, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Three additional Philadelphia-area health centers have been added to the list of those aided by Independence Blue Cross’ Charitable Medical Care Grant program. Abbotsford Family Practice & Counseling, Falls Family Practice & Counseling and The Health Annex will all receive funding over the next three years.
“We’re incredibly pleased and grateful for this opportunity,” said Donna Torrisi, Executive Director for the Family Practice & Counseling Network. “We’re always looking for funding to provide more and better services. Thanks to IBC, we have the ability to expand our sites and provide care to those in need.”
The three clinics are part of the Family Practice & Counseling Network, which also includes Drexel’s Eleventh Street Family Health Services who received similar funding from IBC in 2004. The centers are all nurse-managed health centers with Nurse Practitioners providing care to more than 5,300 patients per year at each of the network’s four locations.
“The Charitable Medical Care Program is a shining example of IBC’s commitment to the health of our community,” said Steve Fera, Vice President, IBC Social Mission Programs. “The CMC Grant Program helps the uninsured gain access to much-needed medical care, which helps fill a void our community is struggling to address. It also helps reduce incidents of uncompensated care for providers, which ultimately helps control medical costs for our members.”
The Charitable Medical Care Grant program provides clinics with a three- year financial commitment to help support areas such as general operating expenses, unfunded pharmaceutical needs, medical supplies, specialty care, diagnostic tests, or other pertinent needs critical to the delivery of care within in the clinics. To date, IBC has dedicated nearly $3.8 million to 20 clinics over the next three years.
The Family Practice & Counseling Network was founded in 1991 and operates on the philosophy of providing care for the whole person. In addition to medical services, the clinics offer mental health, physical therapy, podiatry, a creative arts program for youths at risk and transportation to and from the clinics for those who can’t get around themselves. Social workers provide help with legal, housing and other issues as needed. Recently, the network launched a new dental program.
“The dental program has been a tremendous success,” Ms. Torrisi stated. “People come in with immense needs and we offer them a place where they can meet those needs. We try to be a health care home for our patients.”
For more information about this clinic or the additional clinics aided by the IBC Charitable Medical Care Grant Program, contact Sheila Hess at 215-241- 3229 or sheila.hess@ibx.com.
About Family Practice & Counseling Network
The Family Practice & Counseling Network began in 1992 as a small nurse- managed health center located in the Abbottsford public housing neighborhood of Philadelphia. Today they operate four full-service health centers in the Philadelphia area, all embedded in the core of the communities they serve. The Network primarily focuses on providing healthcare to residents of public housing and uninsured people - the majority of its 6,300 patients are single women and children. Care is provided by highly qualified nurse practitioners, registered nurses, nurse midwives, dentists, mental health therapists and psychiatrists, as well as a collaborating physician.
About Independence Blue Cross
Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurer in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nationwide, IBC and its affiliates provide coverage to nearly 3.5 million people.
Independence Blue Cross
CONTACT: Jim Rhodes, Independence Blue Cross, +1-215-241-3113; or DonnaTorrisi, Executive Director, Family Practice & Counseling Network,+1-215-843-3817 ext. 233