Wednesday, February 5, 2025
2/5/2025
Needs to be addressed: The project will expand hours of operation for Creek Valley Health Clinic, a federally qualified health center (FQHC) located in northern Arizona. This project will permanently increase its operating hours by 7 hours per week (14.2% increase in existing operating hours), and support on-call evening hours for deep suction during November – March (RSV season). Through expanding its hours, Creek Valley Health Clinic aims to improve health outcomes, reduce patient wait times as they request an appointment, and reduce urgent and emergency room visit in its community. Proposed services: Creek Valley Health Clinic plans to offer the following services during its expanded hours: general primary and preventive care which includes well child appointments, immunizations, adult annual checkups, Medicare annual wellness visits, well woman visits, screenings for cancer, family planning appointments, prenatal and postnatal appointments, and related medical services. It also plans to offer more ‘urgent’ medical services (which are highly needed on Saturdays) which may include services such as screening for RSV, influenza, COVID-19, and other communicable disease, stitches, injury analysis including referrals for diagnostic imaging as needed, and related same-day and/or walk-in care. As mentioned throughout the narrative, CVHC will also have seasonal evening availability during RSV season for ‘deep suction’ to prevent infants from having to drive 45 miles to the emergency room. Integrated behavioral health services will be available on extended hours on weekday hours, but likely not available during Saturdays unless service utilization suggests it would be beneficial (as the majority of Saturday appointments are sick visits and/or urgent in nature). Translation and transportation assistance will be available during extended hours. Population group(s) to be served: This program aims to serve Colorado City (AZ) and the surrounding northern Mohave County (AZ) region, which includes the 33-mile geographic region often called the ‘northern Arizona Strip. This is a rural, isolated, underserved area of Arizona that is separated from most of the county and state by the Grand Canyon. Nearest cities/hospitals in Arizona to this service area include Page (110 miles from the service area), Flagstaff (225 miles from service area), and Kingman (265 miles from service area). Health Center Program Grant Number: H8033638 Brief Summary How Hours Meet Needs in the Community: The current operating hours, as well as this project’s plan for expanding hours have been thoughtfully created to meet the unique needs of the community. Creek Valley Health Clinic is the only medical service in the community, and many residents’ only option for after-hours care is 45 miles away at the nearest emergency room. Service utilization shows that Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays are the days with the most need for expanded hours; and also suggests that infants with RSV are a strong contributing factor to emergency room visits, specifically during weekend months. Through analyzing service utilization, local surveys, staffing ratios, social factors, health disparities, and other factors included in the community needs assessment; Creek Valley Health Clinic will continue to ensure that expanded hours meet local community needs during and after this project period.
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).