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DOCTORS CARE REGROUPS TO MEET INCREASING DEMAND
 At Doctors Care in Littleton, the paradox of federal stimulus dollars is hitting home.
“Included in the package of statewide budget cuts that went into effect in September are reduced fees paid to doctors and hospitals that care for Medicaid patients, and a call for health clinics to chop their budgets, even as they’re receiving stimulus funds,” said Bebe Kleinman, Executive Director of Doctors Care which provides affordable, quality health care to the un- and underinsured in south Metro Denver. “It’s scary.”
Indeed, due to state budget cuts, Metro Community Provider Network (MCPN) made the difficult decision to close the doors of its Littleton clinic in November. This leaves Doctors Care as the only safety-net medical home in Littleton and, as such, the clinic is preparing for a potential influx of thousands of new patients from Arapahoe, Douglas and Elbert counties.
“In the first six months of this year, we served 1,100 new patients, 80% of whom are pediatric patients like little Ashley and Katelyn Berry,” Kleinman said “Last year, we served 5,000 patients, and this year we expect the number of total patients we see to top 7,000.”
The sisters are regulars at Doctors Care where Katelyn, 4, is being treated for a kidney disorder and 2-year-old Ashley is monitored for a platelet disorder that also requires frequent visits to a specialist at The Children’s Hospital.
“When our first pediatrician retired, no one else in the area would take us,” said Stephanie, the girls’ mother. Katelyn and Ashley have Medicaid, while Stephanie and her husband, Brian, who works for his family’s excavation business, are uninsured. “My husband remembered Doctors Care from when he was a kid, and we’ve been coming here ever since.”
“We have no plans to reduce services,” said Kleinman. “Rather we’re asking, ‘how can we increase access to health care?’ Since we’re not federally-qualified, and therefore ineligible for stimulus funding, we need to boost our support from private individuals, faith-based communities and others, and we need to get better about telling our story.”
At the same time, Doctors Care is working to recruit additional medical partners. The organization boasted a network of 550 doctors in 2008, and is up to 717 physicians participating in the volunteer network so far this year. Doctors Care also receives in-kind support from five hospital partners, a figure that has increased significantly from $6.3 million in 2008 to $5 million in the first half of 2009.
“Without Doctors Care, I don’t know where we’d be,” said Stephanie. “The clinic is essential to my family. As a community, we need to support it.”
Doctors Care is among 14 safety-net providers supported by The Colorado Trust to offer comprehensive care for children statewide. For more information, please contact Deidre Johnson, Program Officer, 303-837-1200.
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