How Community Health at DCMS has evolved:
Never underestimate the power of completing a survey!
by: Connie Webster, DCMS Senior VP of Operations

Recently I ran across an old file that included a survey sent to the DCMS membership during Summer 1999. As I flipped through the file, a flood of memories played out in my head as I recalled how far DCMS had come in its community health initiatives since the survey was sent. I’m sure the physicians who completed the survey had no idea how their responses would shape DCMS’ involvement with the community.

The survey was sent on the heels of a decade-long legislative managed care battle that left many physicians weary. DCMS found that an increasing number of physicians had interests that went beyond legislation and economic issues. DCMS physician leaders had just returned from the AMA National Leadership Development Conference and were inspired to consider how as an organization they could impact the community through volunteerism. The DCMS board of directors established an Ad Hoc Committee on Community Service to gauge interest among the membership to ramp up DCMS’ community involvement.

Although DCMS had a rich history of participating in community service activities (one of the more notable activities was Health Check, the annual health fair at NorthPark Center), we knew that many other opportunities for services existed that physicians were uniquely qualified to fill.

In July 1999, DCMS sent a survey to its membership to find out their thoughts about volunteerism. The response was huge! We found that many physicians longed to leave the hassle of the business of medicine and get back to the heart and soul of medical practice—to care for patients! In response to the survey, the DCMS Community Service Committee looked for opportunities to partner with community organizations to provide health care for people without it. With more than 500,000 uninsured Dallas-area residents, the committee didn’t have to look far to find people in need.

The more the committee learned about the health of the uninsured population and of the economic challenges they faced accessing health care, the more the committee became convinced of the importance of partnering with organizations that could make a great impact among the working poor uninsured residents of Dallas County. The committee believed that by physicians taking the lead in addressing the critical and ever-growing crisis in our healthcare system, DCMS would be uniquely positioned to provide the leadership needed to bring together the individuals, institutions, and businesses that must work cooperatively to provide health care to the uninsured.

Initially, the committee identified four charity medical clinics in the Dallas area that provided health care for people without insurance or access to healthcare services. From those contacts, DCMS formed the DCMS Indigent Clinic Forum. At the monthly lunch meetings hosted by DCMS, the clinic staffs discussed issues that affected all clinics and assessed how the medical society might assist them. The clinic staffs were thrilled to network with each other, and to share resources and ideas about how they could operate their clinics more effectively. Most of the clinics had no idea that other clinics just like them were working to provide a healthcare safety net.

Over time and by word of mouth, the monthly meetings grew to include more than 40 charitable clinics in Dallas/Fort Worth. Although some people may be encouraged by the increase of charitable clinics in the community, the increase speaks to the alarming growth of the uninsured population. Most of the clinics are faith-based and were started in response to the need of their community.

During those early years of partnering with the clinics, some clinics in the greater Austin area contacted DCMS regarding the partnership we had created with the Dallas clinics. They wanted DCMS’ help in forming a state association of charitable clinics. Several of the clinics had attended a national conference of charitable clinics and had seen the potential if all Texas clinics pooled their strengths and resources, and became one voice for the uninsured population in Texas. In 2004, the Lone Star State Association of Charitable Clinics was formed. Later that year, the Indigent Clinic Forum renamed its group the Greater Dallas Fort Worth Association of Charitable Clinics and became the regional chapter of the state association.

In Spring 2005, DCMS and GDFWACC presented its first state conference, attended by hundreds of people. According to the National Association of Free Clinics, GDFWACC has the largest concentration of charitable clinics in the nation.

The group continues to meet at DCMS monthly and has grown into a powerful force. It has lots of plans and constantly looks for more effective ways to provide healthy outcomes for their patients. DCMS is proud to be a part of this group and to have helped in its development. The group has allowed DCMS to better understand the challenges of caring for the uninsured and to work toward a solution to a nationwide problem.

One solution from our work with the clinics was creation of Project Access Dallas, DCMS’ community service program that allows physicians, hospitals, community charity clinics, and other healthcare partners to offer in-kind services to provide medical care to working, poor, uninsured Dallas County residents. Many of the charitable clinics serve as enrollment sites for the program.

So, the next time we ask you to complete a survey, know that your opinions matter! At DCMS, we are always looking for ways to be more effective to you and to respond to your needs.

For information about how you can volunteer at a charitable clinic or to learn more about Project Access Dallas, contact Marilyn Haspany, Physician Network Director, Project Access Dallas, at marilyn@dallas-cms.org or 214-413-1455. For those of you who already volunteer at the charitable clinics through Project Access Dallas, we salute you and applaud your kindness!