Influx of Federal Dollars Benefits Marin Community and Improves Access to Healthcare for Homeless

Dec. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Marin County, California – Ritter Center (www.rittercenter.org) has announced plans for a significant expansion of their health service programs to the homeless and working poor of Marin County, made possible by a federal grant.  The grant also designates Ritter Center as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), which allows for federally subsidized reimbursement for medical services provided to patients enrolled in Medi-Care and Medicaid.  Ritter Center’s health services are an integral part of their overall program, which aims to end homelessness in Marin.  

The Ritter Center plans to expand its primary care, mental health, and substance abuse programs by adding multiple healthcare providers and counselors to their organization.  This expansion includes a paid Medical Director, Dr. Darren Lipshitz, who also serves as the Medical Director for the Marin City Health and Wellness Center (www.mchwc.org).  The grant will also allow Ritter Center to provide more integrated case management and coordination of specialty care services for their patients, who may suffer from mental illness, addiction, and complex chronic diseases such as Diabetes, COPD, and Cardiovascular Disease.

Importantly, the FQHC designation qualifies Ritter Center for higher reimbursement rates from Medi-Care and Medicaid.  “Once our reimbursement rate is calculated, we believe our income from medical billing will more than triple,” notes Diane Linn, Ritter Center’s Executive Director. “This expanded revenue stream will help our health center to become more sustainable and improve the types of services provided to our patients.”

The benefits of the grant will also extend beyond Marin’s homeless and underserved communities.  The Ritter Center’s services will benefit local community hospitals by reducing ER visits that could be easily prevented with improved access to primary and preventative care.  Preventable hospitalization and poor reimbursement from uninsured patients has driven healthcare costs skyward and has led to insolvency and closure of many California Emergency Departments.  

The Ritter Center, in partnership with the Marin City Health and Wellness Center, was selected from a group of over 800 nationwide applicants to be awarded a $541K federal grant to provide healthcare services to the underserved populations of Marin County.  The grant was made available by the passage of the Affordable Care Act, and was awarded to only 67 community health centers across the United States by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  

“It was truly this unique partnership that made our grant application so strong,” Diane Linn, Ritter’s Executive Director believes. “MCHWC focuses its health services on the public housing population while Ritter Center’s health services are designed to meet the special needs of the homeless population. It’s an innovative partnership that could be copied in other communities in the future.”

Ritter Center has served the Marin County community for over 30 years, offering supplementary food, clothing, homeless day services, primary and behavioral healthcare, financial assistance and other social support services to the homeless and working poor families and individuals in Marin County.

For more information on Ritter Center, please visit:

Website:  http://www.rittercenter.org
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/rittercenter
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/rittercenter

# # #

The Ritter Center is Marin's critical safety net for the homeless and working poor. Ritter Center has served the Marin County community for over 30 years, offering supplementary food, clothing, homeless day services, primary and behavioral healthcare, financial assistance and other social support services to the homeless and working poor families and individuals in Marin County.