Health Center Program - #LALCS33898- BRIEF HISTORY: HAPPI Health is a non-profit 501 (c) 3 health center located in Huntsville, Alabama. The mission of HAPPI Health is to provide accessible quality health care to everyone. The original clinic opened as a private for-profit pediatric practice called HAPPI, Inc., in June 2010. HAPPI, Inc. grew rapidly, responding to patient need by adding a walk-in/urgent care clinic, adult/family medicine, and a behavioral health. The clinic leadership’s commitment to providing accessible quality health care to the underserved Huntsville community led to the creation of non-profit governing board that determined the health center program model of care would benefit the community. The non-profit HAPPI Health received look-alike designation in February 2020, six weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, HAPPI Health is a thriving community health center. In 2023, it served 10,021 unduplicated patients (an increase of 24% over 2022), providing 31,820 medical visits (31,442 in person, 378 virtual) and 1,561 mental health visits (1,546 in person, 15 virtual). The majority of HAPPI Health’s patients continue to be pediatric patients (65%). The families are poor - fewer than 1 percent are known to have incomes greater than 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL); 63 percent are covered by Medicaid; 10.4 percent are uninsured. HAPPI’s New Access Point (NAP) grant submission includes its four look-alike sites and adds a new Huntsville site in a high needs zip code (35805 with a UNS score 89.9 or 18/20 NAP). COMMUNITY SERVED/HEALTH CARE NEEDS/BARRIERS TO CARE: The target population is low-income (living at or below 200 percent Federal Poverty Level-FPL), uninsured and underinsured, including people on Medicaid and Medicare because few private practices are accepting new patients due to poor reimbursement rates. Barriers to care include poverty (30 percent of the population live <200% FPL) and lack of health insurance (60 percent of the uninsured population is low-income). In 2023, less than 30 percent of the low-income population, 30 percent of the low-income population, and 27 percent of the Medicaid population was served in a local health center. Major health issues include high rates of tobacco use and obesity, limited preventive care, and high rates of diabetes and cancer. PROPOSED PLAN HAPPI Health will continue to provide the full scope of primary, preventive, and enabling services at its four health center sites (opened in 2010, 2016, 2017 and 2025 pending NAP funding). Clinical staffing will include 0.4FTE family physicians, 1.6 FTE pediatricians, 7.5 nurse practitioners, 20.4 FTE medical assistants, 0.80 FTE licensed clinical social worker, 4.0 enabling staff including 2.0 FTE case managers filled by an MSW and LPN, and 2.0 interpreters. In 2026, HAPPI Health will serve 11,150 unduplicated patients.
