New medical clinic in Idaho Falls provides consolidated care at reduced prices

Grand Peaks opens Monday at 2454 North 25th East in Idaho Falls. It provides medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral health services in one building. | Courtesy photo IDAHO FALLS – A new medical clinic opening in Idaho Falls will provide medical, dental, pharmacy and behavioral health services under one roof. Grand Peaks opens Monday at 2454 North 25th East across from Costco. It’s a federally qualified healthcare provider designed to consolidate care. As a “federally qualified health center” or FQHC, Grand Peaks seeks to provide comprehensive health services to medically underserved areas and populations, based on current federal poverty guidelines. Their fees are adjusted based on patient income and family size, using a sliding fee scale. “FQHCs have been around since the 1960s,” explains Amy Zimmer, Grand Peaks COO. “They’re probably the best kept secret in the states. The idea was born on the East Coast, and during the Civil Rights Movement, when there was a push to get access to people who truly didn’t have [medical] care.” Grand Peaks began in 2007 as a free clinic in Rexburg. They later grew and moved to St. Anthony. The institution reopened a new facility in Rexburg in 2015. Both locations were expanded from dental services to include medical and behavioral health, adding new wings to their buildings and refining their procedural model over time. Zimmer has a lengthy background in the healthcare industry, working in various hospitals, doctor’s offices, and clinics, beginning when she was 14. More recently, Zimmer worked at Brigham Young University-Idaho teaching healthcare administration courses as an adjunct faculty member. She joined Grand Peaks first as a board member in 2014 and stepped into her role as COO the next year when the need arose. According to Zimmer, the FQ model permits service providers to bill insurance while also serving community members who might not be able to afford hefty insurance premiums. Even insured patients can qualify for a discount based on their income level. CEO Lorri Sessions says that there is a great need for FQ medical services in Idaho Falls, as well as in St. Anthony and Rexburg. “Our mission is to serve the underserved and uninsured population. Some specialities we offer include OB and women’s health. Our dental offices have in-house X-ray capability. On the behavioral services side we offer traditional counseling, family services, group therapy, substance abuse disorder treatment, postpartum therapy, and play therapy. There is quite a diverse group of therapists that work for Grand Peaks.” Sessions was hired as the CFO for Grand Peaks in 2012. In 2017, the Grand Peaks Board of Directors, which includes 12 local community members from eastern Idaho, appointed her interim CEO. She accepted the position in 2018. “It’s been really fun to see so much growth and also future potential. We’ve had about a 10% increase in patients each year, and it’s consistently growing, in large measure because of the team that we have. I’ve been able to hire some amazing providers. They all make each patient feel important.” Patients are asked to provide “proof of income,” which is applied to the sliding pay scale. Other factors, like existing insurance plans are also factored in. Grand Peaks offers all patients access to their full pharmacy within the 340 B plan, a U.S. federal program that requires pharmaceutical manufacturers to sell outpatient drugs at significantly discounted prices. “If you score 100% and below, you qualify for a minimum charge on medical, dental, and behavioral health,” Sessions explains. “If you score 200% and above, it’s considered full fee, so we have tiers in between the 100 and the 200.” Grand Peaks in Idaho Falls currently employs 150 people, with plans to acquire another 150 in the next three to five years. “We had around 50,000 visits last year in Rexburg alone, so we have to hire and expand to keep up with the needs of the community. And we have a bunch of positions we are hiring for. We love (prospective hires) to have healthcare background, but not everybody that we’ve hired does. It depends on the position, if the education and the training is required. We’re still looking for dental assistants and a few more receptionists. Bilingual employees are a plus, because about 25% of our population is Spanish speaking only.” A formal grand opening celebration is planned for January. Schedule an appointment or learn more here. The post New medical clinic in Idaho Falls provides consolidated care at reduced prices appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com