Supplemental Title X Funding Expands Family Planning Services in Rural Georgia
Published:
Partnerships with OPA and the FPNTC have allowed us to integrate and provide much needed quality primary, specialty, and preventive care to Title X patients, in addition to the family planning services offered. As a comprehensive health care provider, Title X patients benefit from a gamut of services in a one-stop shop model, patient-centered medical home.J.R. Richards, MPA, CEO, Medical Associates Plus
Medical Associates Plus (MAP), a subrecipient of Georgia Neighborhood Improvement Project, has served clients in Augusta, Georgia, and surrounding counties since 1997. Along with Title X family planning services, MAP provides primary health care and other specialty services. MAP also has a mobile care unit that offers primary and oral health care services at local schools and recently added a clinic for teens.
Burke Medical Center (BMC), the local hospital in Waynesboro (Burke County), operates the only rural health clinic. Burke County is ranked at 140th (out of 159) counties for health outcomes. Neither the hospital nor its clinic provided any family planning services and the nearest Title X service site was about 20 miles away. That changed when MAP—with Title X supplemental funding awarded in September 2019—took over full operations of BMC’s rural health clinic and added family planning and contraceptive services, along with health education activities. This funding has also supported the hiring of a women’s health nurse practitioner, a licensed vocational nurse, and a health educator/case manager. In addition, the funding covers a mammogram mobile unit (currently on hold due to COVID-19).
This supplemental funding has fortified MAP’s commitment to integrating family planning services into primary care. With this expansion, MAP has been helping Burke County residents meet their family planning and contraceptive needs, without having to travel.