By Trimmel Gomes, Florida News Connection
As National Health Center Week begins, community health centers across Florida are adopting innovative approaches to delivering care to improve the lives of the nearly 2 million residents they serve.
At the annual conference of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers, the focus was on innovative health care.
April Lewis, president and CEO of the consulting firm A. Lewis Academy, among those at the forefront of the efforts, said innovation is already part of the DNA of health centers even as they incorporate technology such as voice-assistance artificial intelligence to minimize administrative burden, which may lead to burnout for their workforce.
"Community health centers have an integrated care model," Lewis explained. "You can come into a Community Health Center and all of your health -- to include behavioral health, oral health needs -- can be met, so we really keep the patient in the middle."
Across the country and throughout Florida, health centers will be hosting events with themed days. For instance, Monday was Health Care for the Homeless Day, Wednesday is Patient Appreciation and Saturday is Children's Health Day.
Jamie Ulmer, president and CEO of Healthcare Network in Naples and Immokalee, said after the pandemic, everyone needed to rethink how to provide services. Today, it is about using AI to extend after-hours care, establishing infusion clinics for affordable essential treatments and expanding mobile units in underserved areas.
"Community members and patients who live in some of the most austere areas of the state of Florida -- people in Everglades City, people in Chokoloskee -- these are people who have no health care," Ulmer pointed out. "So this is multiple levels of innovation that we're looking towards doing to provide access care to our patients."
There are 54 community health centers providing comprehensive care in all 67 counties across the state, including in Apopka.
