News release:

[Columbus]—Good Neighbor Community Health Center (GNCHC) CEO Patrick M. Peer says that while the COVID-19 pandemic has kept the organization from hosting an on-site event recognizing National Health Center Week, the excellent patient care and services provided by GNCHC and other community health centers across the country are something worth celebrating.

“Together, the Good Neighbor Community Health Centers, located in Columbus and Fremont, provide high-quality primary and preventive care services to over 11,000 persons in more than 25 zip codes,” Peer said. “At Good Neighbor clinics, we are able to offer patients medical, dental, and behavioral health care, along with lab, pharmacy, and imaging services, in one convenient location. And while we accept all forms of insurance, including Medicaid, we also offer patients a sliding fee scale based on their income, as well as this promise: no patient will be turned away from Good Neighbor clinics due to an inability to pay.”

Community health centers like Good Neighbor provide preventive and primary care services to almost 30 million people in the United States, and have continued to do so while facing a global pandemic. They provide care to people who disproportionately suffer from chronic disease and lack access to affordable, quality care, and help lower health care costs by approximately $24 billion a year, while also reducing rates of chronic diseases, and stimulating local economies.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Good Neighbor, like many other community health centers, has additionally served its patients by implementing telehealth services, and offering drive through COVID-19 testing through the TestNebraska program. Nebraska’s upcoming Medicare expansion program, Heritage Health Adult (HHA), will offer even more opportunities for Good Neighbor to provide care for medically underserved persons in its service area. Enrollment in the program began August 1, and coverage will begin October 1. CEO Peer noted that, “Anybody that falls below 138% of the Federal Poverty Level will become eligible for enrollment, which means we could see thousands more patients in our two clinics. Good Neighbor recently hired two APRNs (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse) and an additional behavioral health therapist to help meet what we believe will be an increased patient caseload due to Medicaid expansion.”

Also on the horizon for Good Neighbor’s Columbus location, an expanded diabetes management program that will be facilitated by an on-site registered dietician. “We're going to be instituting a very aggressive diabetes management program, probably in October,” Peer said. “We have over 600 diabetic patients that we want to get enrolled, and we know that number will expand as the Medicaid expansion program develops. The diabetes management program will impact those enrolled by helping them get and stay healthier, and it will save our communities time and money through decreased emergency room and hospital visits. The diabetes management program is a great example of the way Good Neighbor clinics live out National Health Center Week’s 2020 theme, Lighting the Way for Healthier Communities Today and in the Future,” noted Peer.

Good Neighbor Community Health Center, located at 4321 41st Ave. in Columbus began offering patient services in 2003. Good Neighbor Fremont, located at 2740 N. Clarkson St. in Fremont, began seeing patients in 2015. To learn more about Good Neighbor clinics, their services and history, please visit the Good Neighbor website at bit.ly/GNCHC, or on social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.