Friday, April 4, 2025
4/4/2025
Fiscal Year 2025 Expanded Hours. - Family Health Services, Health Center Program #H80CS00425. In an earnest effort to expand access and alleviate barriers to high-quality primary care in rural southern Idaho, Family Health Services (FHS) proposes to increase operating hours at two locations within 6-18 months of a favorable grant award. Our project also directly responds to high utilization of services such as dental hygiene and urgent care services in Twin Falls County. FHS will add 11 hours on Sunday to current operating hours in our Twin Falls Urgent Care clinic, including 10-hour access to the on-site 340b pharmacy. The current operating hours for our Urgent Care clinic are Monday – Saturday from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. for a total of 66 hours per week. The proposed expanded operating hours are seven days per week from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. for a total of 77 hours of access. FHS will also increase operating hours at our Twin Falls Dental clinic on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. for dental hygiene appointments, for a total of six new access hours per week. However, two dental hygienists and support staff will provide more patient appointments during the six hours each Saturday. FHS projects that approximately 398 patients will access FHS services over 826 unique encounters through the Expanded Hours project across the two sites in Year 1 and projects that 119 patients in Year 1 will be new patients accessing services. In Year 2, FHS projects that 497 patients will access FHS services over 1,039 unique encounters across the two sites – 32 patients are projected to be new patients for a total of 895 patients (151 new patients) accessing primary care services through the Expanded Hours funding. FHS has budgeted for a total of 2.45 FTE medical, dental, and pharmacy staff to ensure sufficient staff are committed to the expanded hours project throughout the course of the grant. Staffing includes .30 FTE Physician Assistant/Nurse Practitioner, .15 FTE Licensed Practical Nurse, .45 FTE Certified Medical Assistant, .25 FTE Pharmacist, .25 FTE Pharmacy Technician, .30 FTE medical receptionist, .30 FTE Dental Hygienist, .15 FTE Dental Assistant, and a .30 FTE dental receptionist. Recent HRSA Designated Health Professional Shortage Area statistics for Idaho show only 44.67 percent of primary care needs are being met in Idaho. Only 49.70 percent of dental health needs are being met in Idaho, and only 27.24 percent of mental health care needs are being met. While our organization continues a rigorous campaign to recruit and retain qualified healthcare professionals, other actions such as expanded access to services can serve to link the medically underserved with affordable health care in the interim. Expanded access is especially important for rural Idaho as Idaho and Utah are the only Intermountain West states to see more than 1% population growth between 2022 and 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2023. Our small communities are witness to the effects of that growth, both negative and positive, including longer wait times for access to acute services and preventative care like oral hygiene alike. Our efforts are to strengthen our capacity through expanded access to promote equal access to care, reduce disparities in care, and ensure all patients, regardless of their need, receive the whole person, comprehensive care they deserve.
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).