As we’ve written many times, Community Health Centers have been around for 50 years, yet the different ways they address community health are not widely known by the general public.  The conventional wisdom is that healthcare begins and ends in a doctor’s office.  Health centers prove that wrong every day. But how do we show that?  We found a good example at  Rogue Community Health in Jackson County, Oregon.  The health center teamed up with actor Patrick Duffy to produce a new video that shows exactly how healthcare can transform lives.  Both Duffy and his wife are supporters of Rogue Community Health.  In the eight-minute video, narrated by Duffy, we learn how the health center has touched the lives of their patients, not by just fixing what’s wrong in the exam room, but by solving the problems and challenges that patients face beyond the health center — homelessness, drug addiction, unemployment, etc.  As Duffy notes, “Poverty has consequences on health” for individuals and communities.  We learn how Rogue’s clinicians and staff are using the team approach to coordinate care and integrate services tailored to each patient.  We learn how Rogue helped treat longtime homeless patient, James.  Rogue helped managed James’ prescription drugs to ensure the correct dosage and helped link him to housing and other services to help him stay off the street.

We also learn about Tom, a single dad with two young children, including a newborn. Thanks to Rogue, Tom and his family are not only getting regular healthcare, but also support services, such as formula, diapers, job assistance and regular weekly progress check-ins from a Community Health Worker.  By getting the help he needs, Tom, a recovering addict, can focus on the needs of his family and the future.

Rogue Community Health has been in the business of community health for some time.  Established in 1972 by concerned community residents, the organization now provides affordable primary, preventive, pharmacy, dental and behavioral healthcare services in Ashland, Butte Falls, Medford, Prospect and White City, Oregon, and School-Based Health Centers at Eagle Point and Ashland High Schools, and Butte Falls and Prospect Charter Schools.  Rogue is part of a national network of health centers which are community directed and patient-driven.  There is no one-size fits all approach, no cookie-cutter type treatment plans.  Just a caring team of clinicians and staff on a mission not just to treat illness before it happens, but to address the root cause of illness that lie in wait.