Ensuring Long-Term Sustainability for a Free Clinic on Long Island

Grantee Name

RotaCare, Inc.

Funding Area

Special Projects Fund

Publication Date

March 2015

Grant Amount

$50,000

Grant Date:

November 2011 – August 2013

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Operated by volunteer practitioners and staff members, RotaCare is a health center on Long Island that offers free care and medications for approximately 1,800 uninsured patients annually.

RotaCare strives to provide its patients with high-quality, comprehensive health care. For more than 20 years, RotaCare has relied on donations and grants to provide primary and preventive services for its patients. Recently, RotaCare faced financial instability because of declining revenue and rising costs of malpractice insurance and medication. After the public health code was amended to include approval of volunteer practitioner programs in 2008, the New York State Commissioner of Health approved in 2010 a less onerous application process for these types of health centers to achieve Article 28 status, which would allow them to receive Medicaid reimbursement.

To help RotaCare enhance its financial stability, NYHealth awarded it a grant to hire a full-time employee to provide administrative and operational support so the health center could meet all New York State Department of Health policies and procedures required for Article 28 status.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

After the grant was awarded, RotaCare learned that free clinics were not eligible for the expedited Article 28 application process. As a result, RotaCare changed its focus to achieve coverage for its medical malpractice costs under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for free clinics with volunteer health professionals. Working with NYHealth, RotaCare revised its goals to:

Hire a manager to help RotaCare’s volunteer staff members receive FTCA coverage, which would allow RotaCare to save more than $80,000 annually in medical malpractice costs and attract more retired physicians, specialists, and funders; and
Establish relationships with local hospitals and other health clinics that could provide program assistance and support.

Under the revised grant activities, RotoCare:

Implemented a new Continuous Quality Improvement program and hired a manager to oversee it;
Created a committee to focus on long-term sustainability;
Obtained FTCA coverage in January 2013 and received malpractice protection for its volunteer staff;
Revised the health care center’s policies and procedures and created new handbooks for staff members;
Began analyzing and reporting on compiled data of patient visits and monthly referrals to outside specialists and Mercy Medical Center; and
Implemented a tracking system for missed appointments.

As a result of its new FTCA status, RotaCare was able to continue operating its Continuous Quality Improvement program after the NYHealth grant closed.

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