Press Release

IBC Aids North Hills Health Center

IBC Charitable Medical Care Grants Helps Care for Uninsured Women

Glenside, PA - September 15, 2004 They come wearing their best hats and leave with flowers and gifts — and a message regarding good health. For more than seven years, women in the North Hills area have taken advantage of a special program from the North Hills Health Center known as Women's Night Out.

The program is directed to the area's more than 1,600 uninsured women, including an underserved Asian population. The Health Center provides those who attend the program with routine testing, gynecological exams and mammograms free of charge. Additionally, the program offers a free ride to and from the clinic, translators for those who do not speak English, dinner and an abundance of health information.

To help North Hills Health Center expand this and other popular health programs, Independence Blue Cross this year awarded the Center a three-year grant as part of the Charitable Medical Care Grant Program, which offers financial support for non-profit, privately funded clinics in southeastern Pennsylvania who provide free or low-cost care to the area's uninsured.

"Clinics like the North Hills Health Center and the men and women who volunteer to staff them are filling a tremendous need in our region," said G. Fred DiBona, Jr., president and CEO of Independence Blue Cross. "Without them, many uninsured would have no place to turn but the emergency room — which already is overcrowded. And many other uninsured people would simply go without medical care altogether.

Through the Charitable Medical Care Grant Program, we are not only helping the uninsured get access to medical care, but filling a void our community is struggling to address, but we also help reduce incidents of uncompensated care for our providers. And, ultimately, that helps control medical costs for our members."

"Our goal is to encourage our patients to prioritize their health," said Barbara Hartnett, RN. Ms. Hartnett is the director of Ambulatory and radiology services at Abington Hospital, which is closely affiliated with the North Hills Center. "We need to reach out to our area's diverse population, including the Asian women who are clearly not getting the care they need. That takes people, translators, coordination between Abington Hospital and the Center and funding to help treat our patients and ensure that they have the medications they need."

The Charitable Medical Care Grant program provides clinics with a three-year financial commitment to help support areas such as general operating expenses, unfunded pharmaceutical needs, medical supplies, specialty care, diagnostic tests, or other pertinent needs critical to the delivery of care within in the clinics. To date, IBC has dedicated $2.8 million to 13 clinics over the next three years.

In addition to Women's Night Out, the North Hills Health Center offers family practice services for all ages. Patients are given a "clinic card" which enables them to receive free or low-cost services from Abington Hospital. The IBC grant will be used to increase the Center's hours and expand educational programs, including the addition of a Men's Night Out.

"It's important that we continue to expand deeper into our community," Ms. Hartnett says. "The community has asked us to help those in need — from mammograms to chemotherapy, we can take care of them — but if we can't reach them, we can't help them. IBC will help us reach out to even more patients and that makes a difference."

For more information about this clinic or the additional clinics aided by the IBC Charitable Medical Care Grant Program, contact Butch Ward at 215-241-2220.

About North Hills Health Center Opened in 1996 at the request of the community, the North Hills Health Center is strongly linked to Abington Hospital and serves an extensive Asian population of uninsured and underinsured families at its 212 Girard Avenue location in Glenside, PA.

About Independence Blue Cross Independence Blue Cross is the leading health insurer in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Nationwide, IBC and its affiliates provide coverage to nearly 3.5 million people.