By Susan Trachsel, Executive Assistant & Public Information Officer, Lincoln County Health & Human Services
The Lincoln Community Health Center officially launched in 2006 to provide care to children and adults in the areas of primary care, reproductive health, behavioral health, maternal child health, and (in conjunction with Public Health) immunizations. In an era that pre-dated the Affordable Care Act, the LCHC was instrumental in helping individuals with Medicaid coverage and those with no insurance coverage at all. We continue to help those populations today, in addition to those with private insurances, and Medicare.
With a global pandemic and devastating wild fires occurring within our county in 2020, the LCHC continued to innovate its approach to serving community needs. Our clinics provided drive-up testing early in the pandemic and staff members assisted Public Health with mass vaccination events. We also assisted evacuees of the Echo Mountain fire, by providing staff to the Red Cross Emergency Center during the event, and continue to be a resource for primary care and behavioral health services for those displaced by the fire.
Our commitment to screening for social determinants of health helped us to recognize the need for remote glucose monitoring devices, which we are now providing to select patients with severe Type 2 diabetes. We are also pleased to now offer an office-based addiction treatment program embedded within primary care to provide medical options for patients dealing with addiction and substance use.
