MODELS FOR PRACTICE

FOCUS AREA: ACCESS (INSURANCE)

 

 

Program Name: Community Access Program

Location: Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, California

Problem Addressed: Access to Primary Care and Insurance

Healthy People 2010 Objective: 1-4, 1-5, 1-6

Web Address: http://www.communityhealthalliance.org

 

 

SNAPSHOT

 

The Community Access Program is under the Community Health Alliance of Humboldt-Del Norte, Inc. and is formed by 36 member organizations. The program began serving residents of Del Norte and Humboldt Counties in February 2002 and addresses the following problems: uninsured children, addictive diseases, personal problems, and access barriers to health and social services. The two counties are in the extreme northwest corner of California and are bordered by the ocean to the west and forests to the north, south, and east. The closest metropolitan areas are San Francisco, California, and Portland, Oregon, which are five hours and seven hours by car, respectively. Many residents do not have direct telephone lines, electricity, or community water. Such remoteness makes access to health and social services a challenge for many citizens of the two counties.

 

The Health Services Administration solely funds the Community Access Program, a 501(c)(3) organization, but future funding sources have been identified. The program consists of three separate projects:

 

  • The Healthy Families Project uses the North Coast Clinics Network and other providers to assist with the enrollment of eligible children for this insurance program. The project helps to facilitate enrollment, follows-up on payment of premiums, and helps with yearly re-enrollment.
  • The Employee Assistance Program provides a package of benefits that can be stand-alone or added to existing health insurance to assist working individuals and their families with personal problems.
  • The Del Norte Information and Referral Project uses a multifaceted approach to link the residents of this rural county with needed services.

 

PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION

 

George H. Crosthwaite, DDS, FACHE

Community Health Alliance of Humboldt-Del Norte, Inc.– Community Access Program

417 Second Street, Suite 203

Eureka, CA 95501

Phone: (707) 445-2806

Fax: (707) 445-2854