After managing Juneau\u2019s Front Street Community Health Center for more than a year, Alaska Island Community Services will soon completely take over the health center that mainly serves Juneau\u2019s homeless, uninsured and underinsured residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve done a really good job running it efficiently. They\u2019ve increased the revenue sources, they\u2019ve ensured that there\u2019s consistent provision of services,\u201d Front Street Community Health Center board member Mariya Lovishchuk said on the phone Thursday.<\/p>\n
Alaska Island Community Services is a federally qualified health clinic based in Wrangell. Executive director Mark Walker started the nonprofit in 1989 and has significantly grown the organization, which now offers differing levels of medical, dental and behavioral health services in Wrangell, Gustavus and Northern Prince of Wales Island. AICS has 130 employees, most of them Wrangell-based.<\/p>\n
Front Street Community Health Center is its first venture into Juneau. AICS took over management in May 2015<\/a> at the request of the Front Street Community Health Center board.<\/p>\n \u201cI think, in that time, we really brought both financial and programmatic stability to the clinic, so at this point it\u2019s more efficient for Front Street to be part of AICS operations rather than continuing a management contract,\u201d Walker said on Friday. \u201cThen they\u2019ll just be one electronic health record for us to manage, one accounting system, one billing system, one set of operational policies and procedures. It would just make it far more efficient to manage the clinic that way.\u201d<\/p>\n It was the administrative burden that initially plagued the Front Street Community Health Center board of directors when it took over the health center in 2014, Lovishchuk said.<\/p>\n Front Street has gone through several leadership changes in the past few years. Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, which had long run the clinic, planned to shut it down completely in October 2013 due to budgetary constraints<\/a>. After the Juneau community raised more than $100,000 in one week<\/a> to keep the clinic\u2019s doors open, SEARCH continued running it through April 2014. After that, a new board made up of individuals from agencies involved in the care of the homeless population took over.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Juneau Community Health Center entity was formed to ensure services would continue instead of cease to exist,\u201d said Lovishchuk, who\u2019s also the executive director of Juneau\u2019s shelter and soup kitchen The Glory Hole.<\/p>\n \u201cIt became very apparent that after a very rocky first year and a half, it\u2019s really difficult to be such a small organization to provide services due to the administration burden associated with providing healthcare,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Difficulties included securing funding, retaining providers, offering benefits \u2014 \u201call the things that larger organizations can do,\u201d Lovishchuk said.<\/p>\n She said the Front Street board will likely make the final vote to completely transfer the health center to AICS early next week. At that point, the board will also decide if it needs to stay intact.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the general consensus is the entity has served its purpose. We kept the services going and the services will keep going without us, and so since we fulfilled our mission, the board will probably dissolve,\u201d Lovishchuk said.<\/p>\n As Front Street transitions to be under AICS, Walker said nothing should be changing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re committed to providing sustainable and quality services to the homeless population in Juneau,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At the moment, AICS is looking to hire a permanent nurse practitioner for Front Street and anticipates starting dental services back up in the next three months, Walker said. The behavioral health clinician is still working towards implementing a medically-assisted counseling program for opiate and alcohol addictions<\/a>, and the plan is to still move the clinic into Juneau\u2019s Housing First project once it\u2019s up and running.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very excited,\u201d Walker said. \u201cWe feel very good about our work there in Juneau and we\u2019re continuing to grow the services at Front Street and serve that population.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2022 Contact reporter Lisa Phu at 523-2246 or lisa.phu@juneauempire.com.<\/p>\n Read more local news:<\/strong><\/p>\n Coast Guard suspends search for cruise ship passenger who went overboard in Lynn Canal<\/a><\/p>\n Juneau Assembly resolves deficit dilemma<\/a><\/p>\n