News Summary

Days before Christmas, dozens of women with small children visited the Ernst J. Bever Community Health Center in Hamilton. Among them was Shonda Ertel, 25, and her 6-month-old daughter.

Ertel said that before her daughter was born, she didn't have a primary-care physician. But she needed a place other than the emergency room or an urgent-care center for her child's regular checkups.

"I was worried because I didn't know where to go, and there weren't many doctors who would accept my insurance,'' said Ertel of Hamilton, who uses CareSource, one of the nation's largest Medicaid providers.

Doctors who delivered her daughter recommended Ertel visit the Bever center, 210 S. Second St. The center is one of two community health centers in Butler County, which are expected to serve more than 22,000 patients this year, up from nearly 7,500 in 2004.

The boom is due in part to the faltering economy and the record number of unemployed and uninsured. And officials predict that as the national recession worsens, the case-load will continue to rise locally and nationwide.

Nationally, 17 million people visited 7,000 nonprofit community health centers this year. By 2015, officials project patient volumes will swell to more than 30 million.

"We've seen exponential growth in patients and facilities since 2002,'' said Shawn Frick, director of the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers, which has 147 locations in 44 of the state's 88 counties and expansion plans for nearby Montgomery County.

"The number of uninsured patients is up 68 percent. Yes, the numbers are increasing, but these are not the numbers we want to see because we are limited in our ability to treat these patients.''

Community health centers arose 44 years ago when President Lyndon B. Johnson declared a War on Poverty and established centers in rural and impoverished areas.

But increasingly, many patients languish for weeks on waiting lists for follow-up care despite a federal investment of nearly $1 billion to expand services and build more facilities since 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The problem, officials say, is a national shortage of doctors and nurses and even fewer who are willing to work in community health centers that largely serve the uninsured and underinsured.

Ohio centers currently serve about 374,000 patients. By 2015, officials expect to serve about 625,000, Frick said.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services officials said the Bush administration has done its part, nearly doubling its investment in health centers from $1 billion in 2000 to $2 billion today.

But Butler County Community Health Consortium officials say federal funding still isn't keeping pace with demand. Together, the Bever center and the Middletown Community Health Center have a total of five physicians, three nurses, a dentist and a hygienist.

"We're having a difficult time meeting patient need. We have patients who are having a hard time getting in for follow-up care,'' said Butler County Community Health Consortium CEO Marc A. Bellisario.

Bellisario said officials are currently seeking ways to collaborate with area hospitals and are searching for another full-time nurse to better serve patients.