Changes on horizon for Sapphire Community Health

by John Dowd

The Sapphire Community Health Center, in Hamilton, is undergoing some changes and the new CEO wants the Bitterroot community to be aware of them. These changes could benefit everyone, and are coming in the wake of the hire of new CEO Kelly Duncan and a new director of behavioral health, Evan Gimpel. 

Duncan started late January, and has been in the medical field for 17 years. Of that, she has been involved with community health centers, like the one in Hamilton, for eight years. This will be Duncan’s first CEO position, and she is beyond excited.

“I really just wanted to find a position where I could lead a team to expand,” said Duncan. When looking into Sapphire Community Health, she noticed a lot of opportunities for growth and expansion. She also saw a close knit community, which she described as “the epitome of what a community health center is meant to serve.” 

Duncan said she has “always been mission driven,” and has found a love for these types of care providers because, in her words, they “actually walk the talk.” To her, they often do this, regardless of the patient’s circumstances. 

These community health centers are technically known as “patient centered medical homes,” said Duncan, and their mission is to meet patients where they are. They do this both financially and in the nature of the care they provide. There are only a few of them in the nation, and being nonprofits, what they are capable of doing is quite unique.

Sapphire Community Health can provide a variety of services that many community members may not be aware of, including psychiatric services, other forms of behavioral health services, addiction counseling, primary care and much more. They can also provide what Duncan referred to as “wrap-around services.” These can include things like transportation, translation, a sliding discount for underinsured patients, and they have in the works things like financial counseling.

“We look at the whole person, and not just the medical care,” said Duncan. “We’re here to work with people and their specific circumstances.”

Along with that, Duncan also wanted to highlight the quality of the care they are able to provide, saying, “Many people may not understand those expectations, and think of it as just a cheaper form of care.” When speaking of these expectations, she elaborated, attributing much of their quality care to the fact that these nonprofits are subject to more stringent monitoring and strict regulations. This is due to their non-profit status and status maintenance. Governing bodies often hold these centers to very high expectations because they are eligible to receive grants and other funding.

Sapphire Community Health is working to expand its already vast number of services to further provide for and address the unique needs of the area. Duncan believes these could grow into areas such as dental, vision or more, depending on needs assessments. “There are a whole host of things we could consider in the future,” said Duncan.

However, at the moment, their bread and butter is the two main sides of the Sapphire Community Health coin. These are primary care and behavioral health. According to Duncan, “We are in a unique position where those two can communicate about mutual patients.” With both services in-house, Duncan believes this helps the whole patient and makes each individual service better.

To speak further on this, the new Director of Integrated Behavioral Health, Evan Gimpel weighed in. Also a newcomer to the center, he previously worked with Trapper Creek Job Corps in counseling, and started with Sapphire Community Health in early February. According to Gimpel, “The medical side traditionally does not have the time to go that deep into things.” The things he was referring to include lifestyle, home environment and more. He said having both services co-located in the same building allows them to reach across the aisle and work on the entire patient. “The outcomes are just way better when they are integrated.” 

Echoing Gimpel’s comments, the director of the other side, Dr. Johanna Dreiling, the chief medical officer who oversees the primary care half of Sapphire Community Health, said, “We work together to take care of the whole patient, and working together we can get to the root of everything better.” Having mutual patients allows them to look at “things in the background,” that can affect how patients receive treatment in their lives, said Dreiling. 

Moving forward to achieve the goal of better serving their patients, the team at Sapphire Community Health have some plans. For Gimpel, this comes down to explaining that this type of “integrated service” is even an option. They are going to work on training staff to perpetuate that possibility to patients. “Baby steps to get there, because it is clearly a better way of treating people, but it’s still very new.” However, he believes they have a great team and it will progress naturally. 

Duncan also spoke on ways to maintain this upwards trajectory. She believes a lot will come down to managing their various revenue streams wisely, which is already an important part of keeping a community health center in operation. Being more flexible with patients in turn means having to be smart about funding use and accumulation. “It comes down to managing our expenses well,” said Duncan.

However, Duncan was clear that in the end, “it’s not about working for a profit.” The organization is governed by a local board of community members. These people are unpaid volunteers, with the best interest of the community at heart. “We’re here for everybody, regardless,” said Duncan.

When asked how a person can become a patient, she explained that there are no preexisting conditions to worry about, or income qualifications. “It’s actually quite easy,” said Duncan. The facility is open to anyone in the community, and Duncan added, “Just call!” Wait times for initial visits are about two to three weeks. Interested parties can call the center at (406) 541-0032 or visit the website, sapphirechc.org.