February 28, 2018
(Austin, TX.) — On Wednesday, Central Health released its Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Report, highlighting milestones of the healthcare district’s work to improve the lives of Travis County residents with low income.
Some of those 2017 highlights include:
- 150,800 people received health care services, a 7,800 increase from 2016.
- 75,737 people received screening for health coverage, a year-over-year increase of 5,061.
- 1,524 people received health insurance premium assistance, an increase of 682 from 2016.
- 44,397 people enrolled in the Medical Access Program (MAP) 2,743 more than the previous year.
- Central Health-funded CommUnityCare Health Centers provided 279,738 medical encounters, a year-over-year increase of 13,872.
Through Sendero Health Plans, Central Health’s nonprofit health maintenance organization, 54,383 people enrolled in Medicaid, CHIP, and IdealCare insurance plans, up 19,000 from 2016.
“Our 2017 annual report demonstrates solid financial results and a clean audit of our books,” said Mike Geeslin, Central Health President and CEO. “We’re improving our health care delivery strategy to be more focused on the geography of health ¬- where people live and the best way to deliver health and health care. This is how Central Health and our partners will plan for a constantly changing landscape.”
Focus on Coordinated and Patient-Focused Care
The annual report highlights the ongoing efforts of Central Health and its partners to create and implement a coordinated, patient-focused health care system. Central Health’s partner CommUnityCare, which operates 20 health centers around Travis County, is addressing wait times by making sure patients are getting the most appropriate care – and that doesn’t always mean seeing a physician. In 2017 CommUnityCare substantially increased non-physician interactions with nurses (105,000 visits), pharmacists (almost 12,000 visits) and dieticians (almost 6,000 visits).
Through the Community Care Collaborative, Central Health’s nonprofit partnership with Seton Healthcare Family, hospice care increased, while wait times for specialty care services including orthopedics decreased from more than a year to less than three weeks.
The Fiscal Year 2017 Annual Report is available to view and download at www.CentralHealth.net/finance/annual-reports/.
Central Health’s fiscal year begins October 1 and ends September 30.