Latest news with #NeighborHealth
CBS News
17-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
East Boston facility offering same-day mental health services, in particular for immigrant communities
Since the pandemic, the need for mental health services has skyrocketed and people have been forced to wait weeks or even months for help. In East Boston, a new facility is offering people help as soon as they need it. At NeighborHealth in East Boston, they offer same-day emergency services for mental health. "We help everyone who comes to our door, no matter what it is," said Tracey Weeden, the vice president and chief behavioral health officer at NeighborHealth. Same-day mental health services At the facility, it's nothing like a traditional emergency department, where many patients spend hours or even days waiting for help. "Why would we say to a patient who's experiencing a mental health crisis to compete with patients who are there with gunshot wounds or cardiac arrest?" said Weeden. "We wouldn't and we shouldn't." According to Weeden, the goal is to address the urgent needs of a diverse population, where many community members are facing uncertainty in the wake of federal agents taking undocumented immigrants into custody. "They are hearing stories about their neighbors or their child's classmate who isn't showing up to school so that has significant impact on someone's mental health." "Obviously in the last months, there has been a lot of changes that has an impact on these communities," said clinical psychologist Nico Smiedniansky. "It's something that we can see on a day to day." Smiedniansky is one of the many clinicians who offer a range of services, including counseling, therapy and crisis intervention, all available on the same day. All the services are also available in Spanish. Demand for services up in immigrant communities "We have seen the demand has only gone up and up and up," said Smiedniansky. "And I think this is because we are presenting something that obviously is not offered somewhere else." The behavioral health urgent care is also attached to an emergency department, a pharmacy and a full suite of primary care services, including adult medicine and pediatrics. "This is really the environment where we say come in, we want you. You are ours, we accept you, we embrace you," said Weeden.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
As Congress considers cuts to Medicaid, North Carolina health panel warn of grave impacts
A panel of health experts, officials, and affected North Carolinians convened by Rep. Deborah Ross discuss the impact of proposed cuts to Medicaid on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (Photo: Brandon Kingdollar) A panel of health care experts, elected officials, and affected North Carolinians warned of dire consequences should Congress cut Medicaid funding, a near certainty under a budget resolution passed by House Republicans that calls for roughly $2 trillion in spending cuts. Convened on Friday morning by Rep. Deborah Ross (NC-02) at Raleigh's NeighborHealth Center, the round table discussion featured stories of lives saved by Medicaid, the federal-state health coverage partnership that supports low-income individuals and people with disabilities. The talk came days after a plan to slash government spending narrowly cleared the U.S. House of Representatives, which observers have said would likely require significant reductions in Medicaid funding. Ross, a Democrat representing Wake County, called proposals to slash Medicaid spending 'penny wise and pound foolish,' arguing that Republicans' proposal would 'put families in medical debt' while extending substantial tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. Those cuts, she said, would result in more strain on the health care system by discouraging people from seeking treatment until their conditions grow much worse. 'The money will then go to people who are not investing in the health care system, will take health care away from people who need health care, and create a health care crisis that will cost our communities even more money,' Ross said. 'It is the worst way to deal with public policy.' 'We're operating on razor thin margins. In fact, we had to do a 20% staff reduction about three weeks ago,' said Daniel Lipparelli, NeighborHealth's CEO. 'Something like this would certainly jeopardize our health center — I can say that with confidence — along with other health centers in the state who are a month or less away from closing.' North Carolina is one of nine states with 'trigger laws' reversing Medicaid expansion if federal matching funds for the program drop below 90% of costs for those covered under the expansion. Nearly 630,000 North Carolinians signed up under the expanded program after a bipartisan bill expanded the program in 2023 to cover adults making up to 138% of the federal poverty line. Brendan Riley of the North Carolina Community Health Care Association said health care costs will rise for everyone should Medicaid expansion be reversed, not just those who are covered by the program. Nonprofit health centers like NeighborHealth aimed at low-income residents and underserved communities would not be able to keep up their current services, Riley said, ultimately landing more patients in intensive and emergency care. 'Without Medicaid — and without Medicaid expansion in particular — we could not do what we do today. We could not save money for the health care system, for the taxpayers, keeping people out of hospitals and emergency rooms by keeping them healthy,' Riley said. Cuts to Medicaid could hurt rural North Carolinians the most. Nearly 40% of the program's beneficiaries in the state live in rural counties, according to NC Health News, and hospitals in those areas depend heavily on Medicaid funding — likely leading to closures should the program face significant cuts. Patrick Woodie, president and CEO of the NC Rural Center, said about more than 1.2 million rural North Carolinians are covered by Medicaid 'We lost 12 rural hospitals in North Carolina since 2005, we have seven more that are considered extremely vulnerable. We have seen a great deal of stabilization of those hospitals since Medicaid expansion took effect,' Woodie said. 'Cuts sound easy — it may be an easy decision for some — but what comes after that?' Also included in the panel were North Carolinians supported by Medicaid as well as family members of those who rely on the program. Jessica Connelly said without Medicaid, her three-year-old son would not be able to live at home with her family after being born with multiple complex health conditions. 'He went home on a ventilator with a [tracheostomy] and it was 24/7 life support. When we left the ICU after a combined stay of over half a year, it was, 'what sort of skilled nursing facility should we go to?'' Connelly said. 'That is not a conversation you have for your child. Your child lives in your house. You bring your child home.' Because of Medicaid, her son was able to receive in-home health care and now, is about to start preschool after no longer requiring a ventilator or tracheal tube — improvements she said would not have occurred had he been placed in a nursing facility without the presence of his family. 'Don't take away things from children,' she asked lawmakers. Teresa Johnson said she had to stop working for months to take care of her adult son after he experienced a brain injury. Being able to get care for him at home was an enormous relief. 'My son knows he's at home,' she said. 'I don't know what would happen if we didn't have home health through Medicaid.'
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Long standing equity gaps' : CEO of Mass. largest community health network providing care for all
Access to quality health care is important, but that doesn't mean it's always available to everyone who needs it. Statistics show positive outcomes for people of color lag behind the general population. Greg Wilmot is the CEO and President of NeighborHealth, the largest community health center in Massachusetts. He dreams of leveling the playing field for people who need basic medical attention. NeighborHealth has more than a dozen clinical locations spread across their various campuses which stretch from Boston's South End up to Revere. In all, these community health centers serve about 130,000 people a year. Wilmot takes pride in bringing top notch care to people who might otherwise go without. For example, their South End facility recently upgraded its radiology services to provide easier access to mammograms. 'Timely access to diagnostic tools is going to lead to more timely treatment and is going to ultimately address long standing equity gaps that we know exist in our communities,' Wilmot explained. He cited breast cancer as example. 'Black women have a 40% higher likelihood of death from breast cancer than white women although the prevalence of the disease is less pronounced in the Black community. What we're seeing is that Black women were being diagnosed much later than others, largely because of access to cancer screenings.' Wilmot's calling to help others started early in life. He credits his mother for his success. She was an immigrant from the Caribbean who came to Boston in the 1970s. A single mom, she raised Wilmot and his brother while working multiple jobs. 'She was really focused on education and really instilled a work ethic.' From Boston's neighborhoods to Boston College for a bachelor's degree and to Northeastern University for an MBA, Wilmot never forgot his humble beginnings. It's a lifetime of experiences he brings to the job every day. 'I have experienced firsthand, and I see firsthand, the challenge that families face when navigating health care in the city.' Today, he's got the corner office at a time when only about 6% of all CEO's are Black, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 'I do think to the extent that in just seeing that representation in the room, or the boardroom, or in an executive capacity, to the extent that serves as an inspiration to other people of color, I think that's very important, but it also comes with an obligation.' That comes as the organization could be heading into choppy waters. Almost 2/3rds of their patients are either uninsured or on Medicaid and the future of federal funding is murky at best. 'It's a tough reality I think that we have to grapple with, but our health care system isn't designed to provide high quality health care sustainably to poor people and that's what we need to change.' Wilmot worries about patients stalling, or even foregoing, their treatment. 'What we know is when we can treat people further upstream, when we can serve them thru primary care and preventative care medicine, when we can get at the social drivers of health or social determinants of health earlier, it's going to help us avoid downstream expensive health care.' The job is challenging and promises to be even more challenging in the days ahead. Still, Wilmot thinks about where he came from, where he's going, and hopes it provides some inspiration for tomorrow's leaders. 'One of the things I would share with young people is that when you're doing the difficult work of change, there will be resistance,' said Wilmot. 'I would encourage young people not to be deterred by resistance. It's important sometimes to lean in and lead thru.' Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
