Healthy Shingletown
All about a federally qualified health center.
In Shingletown a federally qualified health center (FQHC) provides excellent outpatient healthcare for the people in our community, whether those people live on the streets or have private health insurance, Shingletown Medical Center is here for everyone.
FQHCs, also known as community health centers, assure that healthcare is available to people in medically underserved areas. We assure that people’s financial status will not prevent them from receiving the health services they need, including medical, behavioral health, emergency food and access to our Fitness Center and even some specialty services.
All of our medical providers believe in this mission and work diligently to give everyone access to quality healthcare. Since the first FQHC opened in 1965 as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty, 1,400 FQHCs can now be found across the country serving 28 million people each year. In Shingletown our community health center provides the only local health care.
FQHCs are different from other health centers because of the strict requirements we must meet to qualify for the federal funding we receive. We are non-profit organizations governed by boards of directors, at least 51 percent of whom must be our patients. We cannot turn away any patient based on their inability to pay. We provide a broad array of services, focusing on whole-person care. We must submit quality data to federal oversight to make sure we adhere to best practices to provide the quality care all patients deserve.
Shingletown Medical Center goes above and beyond those requirements by voluntarily submitting our data to the scrutiny of accrediting organizations like the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) to earn designations such as Patient-Centered Medical Home. According to NCQA, research shows that Patient-Centered Medical Homes improve quality and the patient experience and increase staff satisfaction—while reducing health care costs.Although FQHCs adhere to national standards, we are governed and operated locally. This allows us to better understand and adjust to the needs of our patients. We continuously reassess the needs of our community to move toward services that are the most needed.
SMC was started over 35 years ago. We initially focused on primary and preventative care, our services have grown to include wellness exams, diabetes education, chiropractic care, gynecology and psychiatry. The fitness and family programs provided by our Case Managers are constantly evolving to meet the community needs. Our ongoing quest to keep our community healthy saw the opening of the SMC Fitness Center, on the corner of Highway 44 and Wilson Hill Road and taking over the Emergency Food Closet, at Black Butte School in 2018. We either provide services directly, or we help connect you with the specialty care you need.
In the next few months we will begin our Telemedicine program. This too will help our community stay in the Shingletown area to receive more care options. Telemedicine is the latest way for you to see a medical specialty provider without traveling to Redding, Sacramento or even San Francisco for the care you need. Today’s technology will allow you to see a medical provider who may be in Sacramento without going any further that Shingletown Medical Center. You will have a private real-time appointment via video.Come see one of our primary care providers and take advantage of the quality care we can offer to you in your community.