Media Contact: Jonathan Dayton, MS, Community Relations and Population Health Supervisor
Social Determinates of Health are things that affect every facet of daily living. These are things such as access to foods, safe drinking water, transportation, medications, and housing to name a few. At Mountain Laurel Medical Center it is our goal to care for the patient as a whole.
This desire leads to one of our long-term employees receiving her Community Health Worker certification. Terri Friend, CHW serves the patients of Mountain Laurel who are self-identified or who screen positive for a resource need. These patients are connected with resources in the community and receive close follow-up by Terri to ensure that their needs are met. Terri says, “The most rewarding part of my job is knowing that I have made a difference.” The Nurse Care Coordinators serve as part of the team as well and are responsible for creating a plan of care for patients experiencing complex needs. As Mountain Laurel has expanded the need for additional options to reach our rural community has become very apparent. This has led to the hire of additional CHWs to work on value-based contract initiatives. The value-based approach is to improve the health care experience for the patient, improve the health of the individuals and reduce the costs of healthcare. This approach takes a proactive, team-oriented, and data-driven approach to keep people healthy! In order to be proactive and commit to our mission statement, Mountain Laurel is building a mobile van that will be here within weeks and more information will be released at that time!
Our Chief Operating Officer says, “This displays Mountain Laurel’s commitment to our Community providing education and outreach and breaking down barriers to care.”
Mountain Laurel Medical Center is committed to providing the highest quality primary health care to our community regardless of the ability to pay and providing whatever services necessary to better the health outcomes of the community.