Health Care Collaborations in Southern Idaho Focus on the Common Good
The collaborative spirit of Southern Idaho’s health care community is evident in the work of two local organizations that are partnering with the region to expand access to care.
Filling the Gap
Community is at the heart of Wellness Tree Community Clinic in Twin Falls. The only free community clinic in Southern Idaho, Wellness Tree offers medical, dental, vision and counseling services to adults across seven counties.
“Most of the patients we see work full time,” says Tamara Harmon, Wellness Tree executive director. “They make too much to qualify for Medicaid but may work for an employer that doesn’t provide group-sponsored benefits, so going to a doctor can be cost-prohibitive.”
Patients can see a provider and receive many basic, nonnarcotic medications from the medical clinic. The dental clinic provides fillings and extractions, and vision services include eye exams and up to $100 toward purchasing frames and lenses. For medications or service needs beyond what the clinic offers, the team can help identify other sources of support or funding.
An online counseling program is available to those who either don’t have this benefit or who may have it but have a long wait for service.
“If somebody needs to talk with a counselor right now and can’t get in for 30 to 60 days, we step in and help connect them through Better Help online. It really meets people where they are to get the mental health resources they need,” Harmon says.
Volunteers bring these programs to life, serving between 600 and 700 people each year. “All of our doctors, nurses, dentists and other providers are volunteers,” Harmon says.
The community supports Wellness Tree in countless other ways, too. “This is a tight-knit community, where people believe in taking care of each other and in contributing to the common good,” Harmon says. “We’re well-supported through donations and fundraisers.”
About 40% of the clinic’s funding comes from private foundation grants, and Twin Falls County provides reduced rent for the clinic in a county building.
“At Wellness Tree, we believe that every human being has the right to access health care regardless of their ability to pay for it,” says Harmon, who was born and raised in Twin Falls. “That is not a privilege reserved for people who happen to have the right job or happen to have the money. We plan on being around and filling the gap that exists for folks who don’t have access to the care they need.”
Investing in Hope
St. Luke’s Magic Valley Health Foundation leverages support from the community to deliver on its mission to improve the health of the region served by St. Luke’s Health System.
“We partner with the community in ways that allow them to be investors in their own health care,” says Dawn Soto, executive director of the foundation. “We’re separate from the health system, but it pays all of our operating expenses and salaries. So, when someone donates to the foundation, 100% of that goes toward the fund they specify. None of it goes to overhead.”
The foundation distributed more than $1 million in funding last year to support needs ranging from staff education to patient assistance to improving the health of specific populations.
“We’re not a savings bank,” Soto says. “We want to help people. We have over 100 different funds. I like to say we have everything from A to Y: from Alzheimer’s to the Youth Health Fund, and everything in between. All of the money raised stays right here in the Magic Valley, for the eight counties served by St. Luke’s Health System.”
The foundation targets its campaigns to meet identified health needs. For instance, when data showed the area has a high risk for late-stage cancer detection and breast cancer deaths, the foundation committed to raising money to bring cutting-edge contrast-enhanced mammography to the region. The goal is to raise $500,000, with half to purchase the technology and half to help pay for mammograms for women who are under- or uninsured. Plans are also in the works for a capital campaign to help replace the aging St. Luke’s critical access hospital in Jerome.
“Every gift we receive is a reflection of someone’s hope for better health in our community,” Soto says. “Our role is to honor that trust and make sure every dollar goes exactly where it’s intended. We really focus on improving lives in the Magic Valley.”
Get to Know Southern Idaho
Visit livability.com/southern-idaho to learn more about living, working and playing in the region.