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Trinity Health Foundation of East Tennessee

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic

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Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic

Improving Space and Technology for Access to Care

Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic needs building and space expansion to increase access to dental, primary care, and behavioral services for uninsured citizens and workers of Sevier County. Though we serve the equivalent of ¼ of the county’s population, 140 potential new patients are turned away monthly. Our uninsured patient population experiences numerous barriers to quality healthcare and look to our clinic for social services support in addition to medical and dental care. We hope to increase access, decreasing utilization of the Emergency Department for non-urgent needs.

Phase I funds will be used to assess our current Information Technology system in consultation with a team of IT professionals. Our Clinic does not have IT staff and our growing programming lacks an updated network system to support growth and services expansion. We anticipate planning and consultation with the local Department of Education and former executive director for space expansion design. Initial grant funds will be used for IT consultation to ensure a secure network for expanded space and services, and consultation with experts concerning building expansion and other community organizations to assess peripheral needs of patients.

Measurable outcomes will include completion of building expansion plans and planning for a secure network to support electronic medical records and operational functions of the clinic. Phase II funds will be used for capital expansion and purchase of IT equipment needed for additional patient load. The expansion should enable us to decrease uninsured patients’ utilization of the emergency room for non-urgent medical and dental needs.