Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program - Fordland Clinic, Inc. Address: 1059 Barton Drive Fordland, MO 65652 Entity Type: FQHC Website: https://fordlandclinic.org/ Proposed Service Region: Webster County, Missouri Network Name: Fordland’s Rural Health Network Plan Legislative Aims: 1) Achieve efficiencies; 2) Expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes; and 3) strengthen the rural health care system as a whole Focus Area: chronic care management including diabetic care Funding Preference: Fordland Clinic, Inc. qualifies for the Health Professional Shortage Area and Medically Underserved Community/Populations (MUC/MUP) funding preferences. Fordland Clinic, Inc. (Fordland) is a full-service health system serving area residents in Webster, Stone, and Greene counties in the state of Missouri. The Health Center became a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Look-alike in 2007 and achieved full FQHC status in 2015, providing the area with needed medical, dental, mental health, and enabling services. Fordland’s mission is to improve the health of their community, and they have a vision to serve as a model for quality, affordable healthcare by offering comprehensive medical, dental, mental health, prevention, and wellness services to everyone regardless of insurance and income. Fordland is proposing a Rural Health Network Plan, with Network members Webster County Health Unit and Elect In Home Care, that will greatly increase and enhance chronic care delivery within Webster County. The overarching goals of Fordland’s Network planning partnership are to: 1) Achieve efficiencies; 2) Expand access to, coordinate, and improve the quality of basic health care services and associated health outcomes; and 3) Strengthen the rural health care system as a whole. Residents in Webster County, Missouri experience structural challenges and barriers to accessing chronic health care due to social determinants of health (SDOH), being uninsured or underinsured, geographic barriers, and lack of collaboration between area health providers. The population of rural Webster County includes many that are economically distressed and aging adults over the age of 65. These populations are impacted by various chronic health-related challenges, including rural isolation, limited health literacy, and limited access to disability services, among other challenges. Project focus will be on identifying unique access barriers of Webster County, planning ways to enhance access to chronic health care, including diabetic care, and social support services, conducting community focus groups to better gather and interpret community input, and building a sustainable framework for long-term viability of integration and service offerings to Webster County, regarding diabetic care and other chronic conditions. As a long-standing area FQHC, Fordland has demonstrated its capacity for effective program implementation. Fordland qualifies for Funding Preferences 1 and 2 as Fordland’s service area is located in a Health Professional Shortage and Medically Underserved Area.
