The Healthcare CDFI Difference: Specialization Counts
PCDC understands healthcare. This is a bigger statement than it might seem — from the ever-changing laws and policies that shape how our medical centers function to the practical strategies health centers employ to optimize everyday operations, grasping the totality of “healthcare” requires expertise in a wide variety of fields and disciplines. For this reason it’s crucial that health centers seek top-quality guidance as they navigate this complex landscape.
For organizations serving primarily low-income, uninsured, under-insured, or undocumented populations, understanding government policies is especially important. Since PCDC’s mission is to help fund, construct, and develop clinics in underserved areas we always bring our understanding of policy to the table. We maintain a thorough understanding of the ways in which income inequality affects community health. For example, these communities often have fewer primary care providers, a lower life expectancy, and a higher rate of infant mortality.
We’re solution-seekers at PCDC, and we’ve found time and time again that quality primary care can transform the overall health of a community. Without access to primary care, people tend to treat healthcare concerns reactively rather than proactively. Seeking “emergency room care” on an as-needed basis is expensive, time-consuming, and ineffective long-term. Primary care addresses all the factors that contribute to personal health and well-being from childhood through old age by providing medical, dental, behavioral, and pharmacy services as well as screening, diagnosis, and treatment. We believe so strongly in the power of primary care that we have invested over $1.1 billion in more than 130 primary care health center projects nationwide, providing primary care to millions of patients.
Still, PCDC’s support of primary care facilities extends far beyond financial contributions. We take a hands-on approach, providing expert consulting to transform the ways in which a community health center delivers primary care. PCDC has coached and trained more than 9,000 health workers to deliver superior patient‐centered care to countless patients in need. And with each new client, we refine our methods. We conduct research, report on our findings, and apply what we’ve learned as we continue to construct and develop clinics across the country. At PCDC, we don’t measure success by tallying the number of loans we make, but rather by looking at how our communities have been improved. We consider our clients to be our “partners,” because we share a mission to provide more people with better care while nurturing stability.
There are many primary care transformation efforts underway in New York. Despite recent progress, however, investments in primary care still need to be increased before patients in need are able to access consistent, quality care. In order to reflect the needs of a diverse set of clients, we offer a variety of financial products and solutions to best serve each individual clinic in the way that best promotes growth and long-term success. PCDC won’t leave you high and dry during any part of the process. With a holistic approach, we nurture the all-around success of underserved clinics by providing enough resources and know-how to last for years.
