Fiscal Year 2023 Capital Assistance for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts (CARE) - North Florida Medical Centers, Inc. (NFMC) is a nonprofit Federally Qualified Health Center that provides comprehensive medical, dental and enabling services in ten counties located in the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend regions. Since 1995, NFMC has specifically focused services to the low income, uninsured and underinsured residents within this service area. In 2022, NFMC provided 74,378 medical, dental and enabling visits to 24,392 patients across ten fixed service sites, one mobile unit, and three elementary school dental outreach programs with 158 FTEs. Over the past ten years, several hurricanes, most notably Hurricane Michael in October 2018, severely affected this region. NFMC seeks Capital Assistance for Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts funding to expand its medical facility in Eastpoint, FL. The center is currently ~3,000sqft. NFMC proposes an approximate 570sqft expansion. This will provide accommodations for a second medical provider. NFMC intends to address the following critical health care needs and issues within the targeted service area of Franklin County: high infant death rate, high tobacco use amongst high school children, obesity, low rate of colorectal cancer screenings, and chronic diseases such as diabetes. Major barriers to care include an inadequate number of health care providers who accept Medicaid and the uninsured, large population living in poverty, and geographic isolation. NFMC’s center expansion will aid in “improving the health of the nation’s underserved communities and vulnerable populations by expanding access to affordable, accessible, quality and cost effective primary health care services.” NFMC proposes to enhance the required comprehensive FQHC primary medical care and prevention services to Franklin County. A larger building will provide additional space to house a second provider and support staff at an increasingly, in-demand location. The additional square-footage will provide an additional provider office, more storage and increased capacity for more patients in the waiting room. NFMC will provide culturally specific and additional services based upon the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model. NFMC’s senior leadership have experience and expertise in building construction and renovation. NFMC currently employs two medical providers and seven administrative support staff at the North Florida Medical - Eastpoint. NFM-Eastpoint provided 3,204 patient encounters during calendar year 2022 and anticipate an increase in post-COVID 2023 and with a second provider.
