Community Health & Wellness Partners (CHWP) is celebrating 10 years of serving the community after opening in March 2014.
The not-for-profit organization has four Community Health Centers: Bellefontaine, Indian Lake, West Liberty and Urbana; and four School-Based Health Centers: West Liberty-Salem, Benjamin Logan, Indian Lake and Riverside Schools. A unique location, serving both school and community and the newest location, is the Riverside Community Health Center, which opened in 2023 in DeGraff.
A mobile health unit is also utilized for efforts to meet community needs in other locations.
CHWP has evolved from a 60-year history in primary care, originating as Oakhill Medical Associates. Their growth in services now includes: behavior health, case management, pharmacy, nutrition, chronic care management, urgent care, in-office procedures, dental (by referral), transportation, translation, food insecurity and other social service needs.
Charles Kratz, MD, made the transition from the original Oakhill Medical Associates to CHWP and expressed that the impact on the community is even greater than he imagined it could be.
“I have always enjoyed patients and patient care. With CHWP, there is a team approach to care and a great selection of resources available to support our patients. I know the team is ready and willing to go the extra mile to support myself and our patients as needed,” Kratz shared.
Medical and behavioral health providers, administrators and support staff make up the organization, serving residents of Champaign, Logan and surrounding counties. A board of directors, members of the community, provide insight on resident needs and promote growth — the most positive CHWP impact.
Meeting the needs of the community drives CHWP’s next steps for growth. Tara Bair, president/CEO, shared that she continually participates in collaboration efforts with county and state leaders.
“Meeting patients where they are and providing care is our approach to our community. We work hard to remove barriers, making care accessible to anyone and everyone,” said Bair.
The CHWP vision came about by a group of community citizens who explored opportunities to serve patients regardless of income and/or whether they had insurance or not. Members of the Amish community, patients of private primary care practices, a family medicine residency clinic, Mary Rutan Hospital leadership and elected officials were part of this initial collaborative.
To meet the needs of the rural community of Logan County, an application was submitted for health center grant funding from the Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Funding resources were secured in 2013 to open Community Health & Wellness Partners of Logan County. In addition to approved funds from HRSA, Mary Rutan Hospital provided resources through a community benefits grant.
CHWP opened its doors on March 1, 2014, at the current West Liberty and Indian Lake locations. At that time, the organization included only 13 members, including four providers who served the health center.
The enrollment of the 340B Federal program in 2015, allowed CHWP to receive discounted priced drugs for service of their patients
During 2015, a partnership with OSU College of Nursing led to the implementation of services in Behavioral Health, Pharmacy, and Nutrition, and the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT).
With multiple community agency support, 70 patients and 11 opioid patients were treated in 2016. That number of patients grew by nearly double the following year, making the MAT program a success, and it continues to be a strong program today.
The Federal Tort Claims Act deemed CHWP a medical covered entity. Experienced growth in programming and services, led to organizational growth by the merging of Oakhill Medical Associates in 2016. With this, CHWP grew by three times overnight – serving 2,500 patients to over 10,000.
CHWP was awarded recognition by the National Council of Quality Assurance as a Patient-Centered Medical Home; and staff recognition – Jason Martinez, Pharmacist of CHWP, was the first Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist (BCAP) in Logan County.
With the addition of psychiatry to the practice, provided by Dr. Jillian Shellabarger and appointment of Dr. Kenneth Miller to Chief Medical Officer, CHWP integrated Behavioral Health into Primary Care in 2017.
The graduation of services also presented a rebrand opportunity, in which – ‘Care to Live Life Fully,’ was applied to the logo.
In 2018, CHWP opened its third health center location in Bellefontaine. Implementing their TeamCare approach to delivering health care, with patients having access to all CHWP services, including Chronic Care Management, also was newly added in 2019.
CHWP received state and national recognition for their Wholesome Rx program, made possible by the Ohio Department of Health grant – a national organization dedicated to ensuring affordable access to fresh produce.
A total of 129 diabetic patients participated in the program and gained knowledge in healthy eating education for diabetes.
During the challenges of the 2020 COVID pandemic, CHWP addressed community needs by implementing their Emergency Management Plan. A surge clinic at the Bellefontaine location was established to support health services, and later transitioned to a sick bay.
Telehealth services were issued within three days of declaration of the pandemic and have become increasingly popular ever since 2020.
From the convenience perspective and meeting patients where they are, CHWP also expanded its availability by offering services via a new Mobile Health Unit.
As the pandemic continued, convenience continued to be a vital role and perspective to CHWP’s approach to care.
To improve health care availability, CHWP opened its first School-Based Health Center in 2020 at West Liberty-Salem.
School-based health centers provide access to health care for all children whose parents have given permission, regardless of insurance coverage or ability to pay.
Parents know they will not have to miss work to care for minor problems. Children receive prompt attention from health care providers. School-based health services may be utilized by students, faculty, staff and household members.
Growth continues to be a word to describe CHWP, and the organization exceeded 100 employees in 2021. CHWP’s very first Chief Operating Officer was hired and then during 2022, the first Human Resources Officer.
CHWP’s continued service efforts have been recognized through its receipt of the following awards: Smart 50 Business Honoree of Columbus, continued Joint Commission Gold Seal of Accreditation, 2021 Logan County Chamber of Commerce Non-Profit of the Year, 2021 Best Health Care Provider Award, and 2021 Hypertension Control Exemplar.
During 2022, CHWP expanded its service area to Champaign County, opening in Urbana the newly renovated Q3 Johnson Manufacturing Company, Inc. building.
The health center serves the community in primary care, integrated behavioral health, pharmacy, chronic care management such as diabetes and hypertension, and medication assisted treatment for alcohol and substance use of all kinds. CHWP has an ongoing collaborative partnership with Mercy Health – Urbana.
To further expand access to children, CHWP opened its second SBHC at Benjamin Logan. CHWP not only grew demographically, in 2022, they expanded their knowledge in community awareness, quality and safety, and advancing technology. Individuals can conveniently become a patient and schedule online.
In 2022, CHWP was awarded Logan County Best Health Care Provider the second straight year, Awardee of Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Quality Leader silver Badge, and continues to be accredited by Joint Commission through 2027.
CHWP believes that school-based health care can play an important role in helping families manage the physical and mental health needs of their children. Having a health center on-site at a school offers a convenient way for parents to have their child seen by a primary care or behavioral health provider.
In 2023, their third school-based health center opened at Indian Lake. Bair shared that health centers inside the schools provide convenience for families and promotes better health, impacting healthy students and bright futures.
The newest approach to care, a dual health center – serving community and school opened at Riverside Schools. Riverside Community Health Center is an extension of the school with an exterior entrance for the community and a secure entrance/exit from the school, providing identical services the community has grown accustomed to receiving as CHWP patients.
“Although Riverside is the newest approach to care, CHWP is growing again,” Bair shared. “To meet the needs and convenience of patients, the Bellefontaine office will undergo renovations to provide a new service to everyone!”
Details of the renovations will be shared via social media and local media soon.
Driving the success and growth of the organization is its mission to provide quality, whole-person, patient-centered health care to anyone and everyone in the community.
With CHWP, healthcare is more accessible, affordable and advocacy for their patient’s wellbeing is at the forefront of health care delivery. Patients can experience a more well-rounded approach to addressing their health care needs by receiving primary care, integrated ancillary services including behavioral health care, pharmacy services, nutrition services and more.
A 97 percent patient satisfaction performance rate is a direct reflection of their personalized care approach. Community Health & Wellness Partners delivers care to patients regardless of their age, gender, income level, insurance, or ability to pay. They are accepting new patients. For more information, visit CHWPcares.org.
The health center is a grantee of funding awards supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Further, this health center is a Health Center Program grantee under 42 U.S.C.254b and deemed a Public Health Service employee under 42 U.S.C. 233(g)-(n) and a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) entity.
