Arizona Complete Health’s $25,000 Grant to Help Support Telehealth Services for the 110,000 People El Rio Health Serves

El Rio Health Center Foundation is thankful to Arizona Complete Health for a $25,000 grant from their Community Reinvestment Program. This gift will help ensure patients have access to integrated services that take advantage of technology so we can keep community members safer during the pandemic. It also helps alleviate some of the financial uncertainty that our health center is facing.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a decline in face to face patient visits from as high as 2,000 per day to under 1,000 per day. Preventive care and chronic care management cannot take a backseat during the ongoing pandemic. These charitable funds will help us to continue our work by being proactive in implementing telehealth workflows that meet people’s needs to ensure patients do not delay needed healthcare during these trying times. An important part of these services includes both medical and behavioral telehealth services. Currently, we are seeing about 600 patients via telehealth per day and are hoping to increase that number. 

“We are very appreciative to Arizona Complete Health for this charitable gift,” said Nancy Johnson, Chief Executive Officer with El Rio Health. “These funds will help fund medical assistants’ licenses for telehealth use. They are integral members of the team and help our patients who are often new users with these technology platforms. The support will also make sure employees receive the training needed and equipment necessary to care for our patients. Providing high-quality, comprehensive, integrated care for our patients in a manner that is safest for those we serve and our staff is a majority priority, which this grant promotes.”

Frontline medical professionals must maintain their personal health and safety throughout the ongoing pandemic and this funding will help ensure more of our health professionals are licensed in telehealth. Innovation that is timely, responsive, efficient and functional is critical to keeping people healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant will help us as we pivot quickly with these important transitions of care. 

About El Rio Health:

El Rio Health is the largest provider of medical and dental services for the uninsured and Medicaid populations in Pima County. El Rio serves the medical, dental, and behavioral health needs of 113,000 patients annually. El Rio employs over 1,500 people with an annual budget of over $180 million dollars. A national model of health care excellence, El Rio’s mission is to “improve the health of our community through comprehensive, accessible, affordable, quality and compassionate care.” www.elrio.org.