Care Free Medical Clinic Provides Physical, Mental Health Care for Lansing Community
Lindsay Knake
| 4 min read
Lindsay Knake is a brand journalist for Blue Cross B...
At Care Free Medical in Lansing, everyone can find compassionate, quality primary and mental health care, including people without health insurance.
From helping patients manage diabetes to providing critical behavioral health support, the staff at Care Free Medical are improving the health of the Lansing area community by creating trusting relationships.
“Primary care in general is about relationship building. We went into this field because we enjoy following patients over time and helping them improve their physical and emotional well-being. That’s really what brings us joy in primary care,” said Dr. Farhan Bhatti, M.D., Care Free Medical chief executive officer. “The providers and the staff here do a really good job of building that trust in those relationships, because without that underlying trust a lot of the patients wouldn't come back. I found that many of the patients we serve already have a distrust of the health care system broadly. And so, when we're able to talk to them in a way that builds that trust and that confidence, then they're able to feel good about the recommendations that we make to them to help improve.”
Starting insulin, taking blood pressure medication or getting a monthly injectable antipsychotic requires the patient trust in their primary care provider to ensure the follow-through with the care, Bhatti said.
Care Free has two physicians and one nurse practitioner who work at the clinic full-time, along with volunteer providers. There are four full-time medical assistants, three receptionists, one staff member who does referrals and a chief operating officer. In the past year, Care Free staff has treated nearly 4,000 patients and provided more than 12,000 office visits.
In addition to chronic conditions commonly treated in the primary care setting such as diabetes, hypertension, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Bhatti said there are also a disproportionately large number of visits for mental health conditions. At least 40% of the visits each day are for bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.
“A lot of these folks don't have access to psychiatrists, and so the responsibility falls on us,” he said.
Recently, Care Free treated an adult woman who has a history of schizophrenia. She was found wandering in the streets with no shoes in the middle of winter, Bhatti said. After spending time recovering in a psychiatric hospital, she came to Care Free Medical. The clinic often provides ongoing care for patients after they are discharged from psychiatric hospitals.
“We're reasonably good at what we do, so there's that trust there between us and various psychiatric hospitals across Michigan, where people who live in this part of the state, if they need services, the psychiatric hospitals will often send those folks to us,” Bhatti said.
The patient has transformed her life with support from Care Free providers. She now has a job, has managed relationships in her life and is no longer experiencing hallucinations.
“I'm really happy for her and really proud of her,” he said.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has given more than $450,000 in Strengthening the Safety Net program grants to Care Free Medical since 2005.These grants help safety net clinics across Michigan provide care to people who don’t have health insurance, often redirecting them from costly visits to the emergency department and helping them manage chronic conditions. This work reduces the cost of the entire health care system, which benefits everyone by keeping health insurance premiums lower.
The Strengthening the Safety Net grant has helped the clinic meet the needs of the Lansing community for many years, Bhatti said. Care Free Medical is the second-largest safety net clinic in Ingham County behind the Ingham County Health Department.
“This has been a really important cog in our wheel to help us serve those who need it most. The cost of care continues to rise in general across the country,” he said. “Having the support of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan with the safety net grant has really helped us reach folks who otherwise wouldn't be able to access care outside the hospital emergency rooms where their care would be even more costly.”
Care Free Medical was also recently designated as a Federally Qualified Health Center Look-Alike, which will allow them to serve more people in the community through enhanced reimbursement for Medicare and Medicaid services and offers opportunities to apply for additional federal funding when it’s available.
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