Community Spirit Alive and Well in D.C.

Attracting nonpaying patients and the homeless may not be the mission of many health organizations and providers, but it clearly illustrates the community spirit at the Unity Health Care East of the River Health Center and its staff, and the primary goals of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC).

Thanks in part to NHSC's Scholarship and Loan Repayment Programs, the East of the River Health Center in Washington, D.C., is staffed by well-trained, dedicated physicians and other clinicians who take care of and care for many of the families in this predominantly low-income, African American neighborhood.

The health center is a model for NHSC involvement—and enjoys a close relationship with NHSC, thanks in part to Ellen King, a nurse practitioner and former chief of NHSC's In Service Support Branch. King works at East of the River 1 day a week as a patient advocate. The associate medical director of East of the River is Carla Lambert, M.D., a family practitioner who is also an NHSC Scholar.

Besides Lambert and King, this D.C.-based health center staff includes three current full-time NHSC clinicians and one NHSC alumnus. In addition, the Center works with students from a number of local educational institutions as part of the NHSC clinicians-in-training program.

The health problems faced by East of the River's patients are as complex as their lives. In general, the residents have poor health, with high rates of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, obesity, teenage pregnancy, and infant mortality and morbidity.

In general, these health problems are due to lack of resources in the community, lack of regular health care, and a poor standard of living. "Almost every child who comes into our clinic has asthma," says Lambert. "And we have too many young parents who don't know how to take care of their children or themselves."

To deal with these problems, the dedicated staff spends lots of time listening to their patients. "Our patients' lives are complex, and we need to understand what's going on with them," says King. When asked by another nurse practitioner about an elderly patient who was there for an office visit, King reminded the staff member that the patient was recently widowed and may need to talk.

Lambert and King both believe that because of the staff, the community they serve, and the work they do, the East of the River Health Center is a "match made in heaven" in terms of a continued mutually positive relationship with the NHSC. The health center provides the perfect learning environment for teaching clinicians-in-training about the team approach. The staff also has much to offer new NHSC recruits in the way of mentoring and valuable experience in health care in an urban environment.

In fact, King sees much of what the health center's staff does in community outreach as an excellent role model for fostering good NHSC relations. "I would encourage other health centers and their providers to participate in such local activities as health fairs, PTA meetings (to encourage immunizations and provide information and training on asthma), and attend town meetings," she says.

Learn about other NHSC success stories.