Friday, May 9, 2025
5/9/2025
Community Project Funding/Congressionally Directed Spending - Construction - The Community Care Clinic of Franklin believes everyone deserves basic health care. Our Mission is to provide free primary health care, including education and disease prevention, to low income, uninsured members of our community. We accept patients with up to 200% of Federal Poverty Level household income who are uninsured or are underinsured with high deductible or limited Medicaid coverage. We are seeking funding for the purchase of a facility to support the growth of the clinic. The 2021 Macon County Health Assessment states that access to care is a top concern for Macon County residents. “The toll of Covid-19 on the direct health of the community has shifted resources and impacted our community’s capacity to respond to existing health priorities. Macon has experienced an influx of new residents from urban areas. Although this has had a positive impact on the economy, it has placed additional strains on the current healthcare infrastructure and housing costs. “Poverty levels in Macon County trend above the region and state on average, and poverty in Macon County is also unevenly distributed with families with children and minorities facing greater burden.” The health care safety net in western North Carolina is under tremendous pressure, according to a problem identified by WNC Nonprofit Pathways, which states that the problem has worsened since 2021, because: “our state and Western NC region have a large number of uninsured population that is growing. Many Macon County residents have urgent and ongoing medical needs without the resources to pay for them.” “Access to care and Services is a broad area of concern in Macon County. To quote one respondent on the issue of access to care and services, there are an inadequate number of health care professionals in the primary care and specialty care areas, especially for the low-income members of our community. Other concerns include transportation and access to primary care facilities for the low-income members of our community.” Income is another concern mentioned in the Macon County Health Assessment: “The median household income in Macon County was $39,593 compared to the state median household which is $48,256; this is a $8,663 difference. The median family income was $48,465 compared to the state which is $59,667; this is $11,202 difference.” The most recent study showed: The three employment sectors in Macon County with the largest proportions of workers were Retail Trade, Accommodations and Food Services, and Health Care and Social Assistance. Macon County’s Retail Trade provided 20.21% to the workforce; an average weekly income of $509.52. Accommodation and Food Services provided 16.11% to the workforce; an average weekly income of $414.86. Health Care and Social Assistance provided 14.07% to the workforce with an average weekly income of $663.13. Note the gap in average weekly wages between Health Care and Social Assistance and Retail Trade and Accommodations and Food Services. Persons in Retail Trade and Accommodations and Food Services tend to lack employment benefits such as health insurance and retirement programs; many in these sectors also work part time and sometimes at multiple jobs.” As of 2021, 23.2% of the population in Macon County is uninsured. “Low-cost health services in Macon County include primary care at Macon County Public Health which can operate on a sliding scale fee and the Community Care Clinic of Franklin and Highlands, which provide medically underserved with healthcare.” More and more NC people are in the ‘coverage gap,’ meaning they don’t make enough money to buy private insurance and aren’t eligible for Medicaid.” As a safety net organization, we have had to quickly adapt to the demands of our community, by implementing additional Telehealth appointments in addition to increasing the number of in-person clinics.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).