Umpqua Community Health Center Sutherlin Clinic Latest to Receive Tier 5 Patient-centered Primary Care Home Designation
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) designated Umpqua Community Health Center’s (UCHC) Sutherlin clinic location as a Tier 5 Patient-centered Primary Care Home (PCPCH) last week, a designation that according to OHA reflects the extent to which a primary care provider demonstrates excellence in delivering high-quality, person- and family-centered care.
Tier 5 recognition is the highest PCPCH designation OHA bestows and represents exemplary clinics that have implemented advanced transformative processes into their workflow using the PCPCH model framework and recommended best practices, which involve offering accessible, accountable, comprehensive, continuous, coordinated, patient- and family-centered care.
We are the only Douglas County health organization to receive the Tier 5 rating. In addition to three of our clinics boasting Tier 5 status, UCHC’s Glide location is recognized at the Tier 4 level.
“All UCHC clinic sites have achieved the highest tier level for which they are eligible,” said Ruth Galster, president of the UCHC Board of Directors. “These across-the-board honors demonstrate organizational excellence and consistency in our pursuit to deliver care services comparable to healthcare organizations of any size.”
Included in OHA’s assessment of the clinic is patient interviews, one of several measurements in which the Sutherlin performed exceptionally well.
“Of all the ways the clinic and its staff are measured by OHA to determine PCPCH tier level, feedback from patients is perhaps the most significant indicator of organizational success,” said Michelle McAllister, director of operational services for UCHC. “State representatives who participated in the site visit shared that our patients feel the Sutherlin staff are highly skilled and treat the people in their care with dignity and respect, philosophies that are at the very core of our mission.”
The PCPCH site visit also revealed the clinic excels at meeting population care gaps, ensuring behavioral health patients are directed appropriately to support services, and making sure individuals requiring advanced specialty care are referred in an expedient and efficient fashion, McAllister said.
“I’m incredibly proud of our staff who work diligently to improve the quality of and access to healthcare we offer the community,” said KC Bolton, CEO of UCHC. “The pride our Board and leadership have is grounded in the knowledge that putting the patient at the center of our efforts is not just lip service – we are walking the talk by a measurable standard. The challenge is, now that we’ve achieved top ratings, never losing our passion for putting our patients first.”
The health center provides a comprehensive suite of healthcare services to nearly 14,000 insured and uninsured Douglas County children and adults, averaging more than 45,000 patient visits annually.
ABOUT UMPQUA COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
Founded in 1992, Umpqua Community Health Center is an independent, board-governed, not-for-profit organization that cares for the people of Douglas County by providing high-quality, patient-centered, accessible and affordable medical, dental and behavioral healthcare, regardless of their ability to pay. It offers integrated services from five clinic sites in Roseburg, Myrtle Creek, Sutherlin and Glide, including a Teen Health Center located on the campus of Roseburg High School.
