Twelve years ago, a team of local leaders were challenged to develop a solution that would fill the healthcare gap in our community. Utilizing the health center model, Crescent was formed and began providing high-quality, affordable, medical and dental care to those who otherwise had nowhere to turn. Today, Crescent is fulfilling their responsibility not only serving the people of Dubuque, but providing care to patients across eight surrounding counties.
Crescent has become one of the nation’s top health centers, exceeding nationally established benchmarks for quality care year after year. In 2018 Crescent was awarded the Health Center Quality Leader award, given by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). As a Health Center Quality Leader, Crescent achieved the best overall clinical performance among all health centers, placing in the top 30% of the adjusted quartile rankings for Clinical Quality Measures. Preventative care benchmarks met or exceeded qualifying Crescent for the HRSA award include:
- Sixty-five percent of patients with hypertension now have controlled blood pressure, a 5% increase from 2017.
- Ninety-eight percent of tobacco users participated in counseling to reduce use, a 6% increase compared to 2017 and 13% higher than HRSA award requirements.
- Fifty-nine percent of eligible patients received colorectal cancer screenings, a 2% increase compared 2017.
- Ninety-four percent of eligible patients were screened for depression and had a follow-up plan documented if positive, a 20% increase compared to 2017 and 34% higher than HRSA award requirements.
“While Crescent has always been about quality, affordability, and access, this award from HRSA demonstrates that our providers and staff continue to strive for the best patient outcomes while remaining affordable and accessible to all,” says Mary Rose Corrigan, Crescent Community Health Center Board Chair.
Community health centers continue to be economic drivers, having a $35.5 million annual economic impact in Iowa alone. They are also cost-effective Medicaid providers, serving 13.6% of all Medicaid beneficiaries in Iowa, but representing only 1.21% of the state of Iowa’s total Medicaid expenditures.
Crescent served 6,373 patients in 2018, breaking down to 3,561 women and 2,812 men. These patients comprised a total of 18,765 clinic visits which were split to 43% medical appointments and 56% dental appointments. In 2018, 57% of patients were uninsured, 37% covered by Medicaid, and 7% were uninsured. Fifty percent of patients have income below 100% of the poverty level. This means a family of four, with one full-time wage earner at minimum wage makes less than $16,000 per year. Crescent serves patients who are employed, self-employed, disabled, laid-off, job seeking, and unemployed.
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