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Health West asks Bannock County to continue special-services support for behavioral and maternal care
Summary
Health West told the county it needs continued support to offset patient co-pays and sustain school-based behavioral health, maternal services through an ISU residency and dental care, citing high proportions of low-income patients and recruitment benefits from training programs.
Health West CEO Mindy Benedetti told the Bannock County commissioners that the nonprofit’s clinics provide essential primary and behavioral health services across southeastern Idaho and asked the county to continue last year’s special-services funding to offset patient co-pays and sustain key programs.
“We’re a nonprofit. We’ve gotten a designation to be a community health center,” Benedetti said, describing benefits and program obligations that come with the designation. She said Health West operates 12 medical clinics in Idaho (18 sites overall) and 13 school-based sites and has expanded behavioral-health services in partnership with School District 25.
Benedetti described the school-based counselors’ role — working with teachers, parents and students on crises including suicidal ideation, bullying, displacement and learning challenges — and said those services “helped kids that are struggling on a day-to-day basis within the school system.” She and grants manager Megan Borage said the county’s special-services fund offsets only patients’ co-pays on an income-based sliding scale and does not cover Health West’s operating costs.
The clinic also partners with Idaho State University’s family medicine residency program to provide OB care and to train residents who often remain in rural practice, Benedetti said. She noted a University of Utah partnership to provide tele-psychiatry and said behavioral health, maternal health and dental services are the programs with the highest unmet local demand.
Health West provided patient demographics: more than about 85 percent of patients are low-income and over half fall below the federal poverty level, the presenters said. Commissioners asked about coordination with local pediatric clinics and county programs; Health West representatives said they work with several partners — including the VA and local pediatric providers — to refer and coordinate care.
The presentation concluded with a request that the county continue the level of funding provided last year so Health West can maintain the maternal-health residency support and the special-services fund that reduces co-pays for low-income patients. Benedetti said sustaining those lines of support helps keep prenatal care accessible for rural patients who otherwise might delay or forgo care.
