Wake's poor to get more care

The nonprofit Alliance Medical Ministry is expanding its practice for the uninsured

More of Wake County's working poor will have access to affordable health care when a Raleigh nonprofit group opens a new, larger medical practice Tuesday.

Since January 2003, thousands of Wake County residents with jobs but no health insurance have turned to Alliance Medical Ministry for medical care.

Just six months after opening its doors, the practice was bursting at the seams. It had been open less than a year when it leased some space adjoining its modest offices on New Bern Avenue. But with about 750 new patients seeking appointments each month, Alliance quickly outgrew the space.

The new 18,000-square-foot facility near the current location finally gives Alliance the room it needs, said Dr. Susan Weaver, the executive director. Over the next three to five years, she expects Alliance to expand from 5,600 patients to 20,000. The number of medical visits is expected to rise from about 13,000 a year to as many as 40,000.

"The need in the community is such that we could go to that tomorrow and still not meet the needs of the uninsured," said Weaver, who sees patients two days a week in addition to her administrative duties.

More than 90,000 people in Wake County do not have medical insurance, according to the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Weaver knows that Alliance, which is wholly supported by donations, is making a difference in people's lives.

Before becoming a patient at Alliance in November 2005, Betty Ellis of Zebulon had gone six years without regular treatment for her diabetes. A few times she went to the county health department for medicine to control her blood sugar. A couple of times she went to the emergency room.

"I didn't have insurance, and I didn't have the money, so I just didn't go to the doctor," said Ellis, who works as a seamstress.

Now she sees Weaver, who is her regular doctor, about every two months. Each visit costs Ellis just $10, and that also covers lab work. When Ellis needs medicine, she either takes home free samples or Alliance signs her up to receive free drugs from pharmaceutical companies. Today her blood sugar is near the recommended range for diabetics, down from the dangerous level where it had been.

Now that Alliance is expanding, Ellis said more people like her will get medical care.

"There are a lot of people who do not even know where to go," Ellis said.

By default, many of the uninsured end up in hospital emergency rooms, where they rarely see the same doctor, face long waits and get care in the costliest setting.

Many of Alliance's patients are referred by local hospitals, Weaver said. WakeMed Health & Hospitals, whose main hospital is in walking distance from Alliance, is the single largest source of new patients.

All three of Wake County's hospitals donate money or services to Alliance. The city of Raleigh and Wake County also contributed to Alliance's expansion.

"We think they fill an absolute gap the size of the Grand Canyon in the health care system," said Bill Atkinson, WakeMed's chief executive. "This model should be replicated not just in other parts of Wake County but across the state."

There's little doubt the Alliance model is less costly than the county's emergency departments.

The average cost of an emergency room visit, based on data from Wake County's three hospitals, is about $1,100, Weaver said. An office visit at Alliance costs about $80. Patients pay based on a sliding scale, however, and Weaver said 98 percent qualify for the lowest price, which is $10.

Weaver is proud that Alliance is affordable, but she's even more proud to offer patients quality care. Alliance does better than most private practices at getting patients screening tests and keeping those with chronic conditions stable, according to national data, Weaver said.

"Our patients deserve quality care just as much as people who have insurance," Weaver said.