Mother Frances Hospital Regional Health Care Center

The Hospital's operating plan incorporates provisions for individuals who do not possess the ability to purchase essential medical services to receive services at the same level as any other patients without regard to their ability to pay. Our commitment to our community extends to free or subsidized individual Care, subsidized education of healthcare professionals, discounted fees for participants in government programs, community Health educations and to other community agencies. Specific community services and programs include: wellness and prevention education programs, community diagnostic screening programs, senior citizen Health awareness programs, awareness of behavioral Health needs and programs for youth and adults at risk and awareness programs for persons with special physical or mental needs. Individuals served included 154,847 visits to our emergency departments, 7,462 inpatient surgery procedures, 20,135 outpatient surgery procedures, 31,439 patients who were admitted to our hospitals for Care, and 497,400 patients who received outpatient Care. As part of the educational focus area of the current chna, providing educational opportunities with Hospital and clinical rotations for multiple programs across east Texas is one of the large programs in the tyler ministry. Mother Frances Regional Health Care Center is not an academic medical Center nor does it have any medical schools located within its service area at this time. Yet, it is one of the largest training sites for students pursing degrees in nursing, allied Health, advance practice nursing and medicine. Mother Frances Regional Health Care Center associates serve as formal preceptors for these students while on site. Associate preceptors include registered nurses, advance practice registered nurses, radiologic technologists and physicians. Gme programs are not included. The sports medicine program aligns with our focus to improve access to primary Care and to address specialty needs. By providing athletic trainers on the campuses of over 15 schools in the smith and surrounding counties, the program provides Health Care access to many students who do not have a primary Care provider nor the means to be seen by a provider. What began as a way to help students heal fully before entering the school sports programs to early has grown to a service to help students stay healthy. Free saturday morning sports injury clinics and free preparticipation screenings, are offered to any player regardless of their ability to pay. Now, all x-rays, ct scans, and mris are done without charge. Also, the program helps to: -prevent injuries and quickly evaluate and diagnose injuries -direct rapid referral to specialist physicians -rehabilitation and faster return to normal life. It is the student's family decision where they go for clinical Care but information about the injuries is shared with all providers on epic. If it is determined the student need follow-up Care, a surgery, or additional visits, the only payment is what the school insurance covers which is a one-time minimal payment. So, this program is subsidized heavily by the Health system. This past year in the Mother Frances Regional Health Care Regional alone, over 2,300 pre-participation physicals were done free of charge to students from across the area. Of those, 415 were referred to a primary Care or pediatrician for a full physical with emphasis on potential heart issues prior to their being able to participate in any sports programs. These same athletic trainers regularly address Health eating and diabetes issues for these students.