Standing at the door to the new Patient Centered Medical Home at Van Horn Rural Health Clinic are the leadership team who made it happen. From the left: Beth Gary, LVN, Maria Gomez, clinic manager, Rocio Onate, LVN, Gilda Morales, NP-C, Dora Corrales, LVN, and Jonathon Voelkel, hospital administrator.
Photo provided by Culberson Hospital staff
Van Horn, Texas (November 20, 2017) – After an exhaustive planning and application process spanning two years, Van Horn Rural Health Clinic has received recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH).
The medical home is a health care delivery model that focuses on the coordination of patient care through primary care providers, such as family practice physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, so that patients receive necessary care when and where they need it, and in a manner they can understand.
“Our providers have always strived to fill this role for our patients,” said Jonathon Voelkel, Culberson Hospital administrator. “However, official designation by NCQA means that we now have a formal, systematic process in place to better communicate with our patients, and serve as both the provider and coordinator of needed care.”
“The medical home model embraces the patient as part of the health care team, and increases access to our care team via telephone, email or our new patient portal. We have added these elements to help assure shorter clinic wait times for acute illnesses and prevent exacerbations of chronic conditions. The goal is to provide the “right care at the right time in the right clinical setting,” said Voelkel.
Coordination of needed specialty care is also a key component of a Medical Home. “Our providers work closely with our patients to help them find specialists, get appointments, and make sure specialists have all the information they need,” said Gilda Morales, ANP-C. “Dr. Garner, Rodett, Kathleen and I will also help our patients understand what the specialists say.”
Beth Gary, LVN, Dora Corralez, LVN, Rocio Onate, LVN, Maria Gomez, clinic manager, and Morales spent countless hours developing the policies and procedures, necessary forms and patient education materials before the application to NCQA could be submitted. They also played an active role in the training of clinic staff to implement all of these new elements.
“I am very proud of the staff of Van Horn Rural Health Clinic who worked so hard to achieve designation as a PCMH,” said Voelkel. “I know they will work equally hard to ensure that patients who become a part of our Medical Home receive all of the benefits.”
For more information about the PCHM at Van Horn Rural Health Clinic, ask your provider the next time you visit the clinic, or go to the clinic page on the Culberson Hospital website: culbersonhospital.org.
For More Information Contact:
Jonathon Voelkel
(432) 283-2760
