FQHC: Federally Quallified Health Center

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Specializes in Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

Hello everyone,

I would love to connect to others out there working in FQHCs. This is my first experience working in one and I would really like someone to compare notes with.

If there are any managers out there I have questions regarding staffing and scopes of practice.

Any MAs out there I would love to hear about what your role in the FQHCs are. We utilize MAs and I am increasing their duties because I felt they had more skills than taking VS.

Any others - what is your role in a FQHC?

Thanks

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I used to work in a FQHC that served anyone but the focus was on migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

As a RN, I did phone and in-person triage. We saw more emergencies than you might think, since we were out in the middle of nowhere and often closer than any ER. Lots and lots of sick visits and trying to figure out weird illnesses. Farmers would call us about their sick farmworkers to get our input. We did well child and well adult physicals, vaccines out the wazoo for both populations, and during migrant season, we went out to migrant camps to do screenings and education. We assisted with minor surgeries - mostly I&Ding boils, ingrown toenail avulsions, and a good bit of cryosurgery. I tracked referrals and once a week did diabetes education classes. I loved that job and would still be there if I didn't have a need for more time at home with the kids. :redbeathe

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Specializes in Mental Health and Substance Abuse.

we are in the inner city so very different than what the rural FQHC's deal with. Sounds very interesting what you experienced for sure. I often debate on moving out to the middle of no where and working at a rural site but right now I like my city vibe.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

What kinds of things do you do in an inner city CHC? Sounds interesting.

As an aside, probably the weirdest thing (among many weird things) was when a farmer called us about this strange illness that had popped up at one of his labor camps, with the workers covered in these purple dots. The medical director, my supervisor, all the nurses were putting our heads together trying to figure out what the heck this strange disease could be that caused purple pustules all over people's bodies. The supe was about *thisclose* to calling some state public health folks to go take a look at these guys when one of them fessed up to buying some gentian violet (very common folk remedy in Mexico, available in Mexican stores if you know who to ask) and painting everyone who'd gotten......chicken pox. :)

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How can I apply for RN jobs working in a FQHC? I am willing to relocate nationally.

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Im actuall wanting to work in a FQHC as a RN, but I do not know where to go or how to apply. Will you point me in the right direction?

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

http://www.nachc.com/careercenter/PCASearch.aspx

Hope this helps!

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Specializes in Family Planning, STD, OB/Gyn.
How can I apply for RN jobs working in a FQHC? I am willing to relocate nationally.

check out needymeds.com and you can find a list of "free/low cost clinics" left hand side that are FQHC.

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Fyi the pay is very low at places.

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

I've published at AN much information on The National Nursing Centers Consortium --Nurse Managed Health Centers.

Philadelphia area has 15 centers run by Nurse Practioners, more FQHC than any other area of the country.

This 2004 report outlines services provided: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND OVERVIEW The Nursing Center ...

Diagnoses and Services in Nurse-Managed Health Centers:

• Preventive Health constituted the largest diagnostic category, followed by

Reproductive Health and Behavioral Health.

• Among Urban, Suburban, and Migrant centers, analysis revealed

Behavioral Health to be the most frequent health disparity diagnosis,

followed by Hypertension, Diabetes, Asthma, and Obesity.

• Asthma-related diagnoses represented 32% of all Pulmonary diagnoses;

Hypertension represented 77% of all Cardiovascular diagnoses; and

Diabetes 69% and Obesity 25% of all Metabolic diagnoses.

• At the Rural Center, the top three diagnoses were Respiratory-related, Hypertension, and Diabetes.

Implications: Health disparities are prevalent among vulnerable populations.

Since the uninsured and underinsured populations are affected most significantly by health disparities, the NNCC considered the health conditions associated with these disparities in the analysis. The evaluation found that nurse-managed health centers serve a population impacted by health disparities and perform a broad range of diagnoses and procedures, many of which address health disparities directly...

Enabling Services in Nurse-Managed Health Centers:

• One hundred percent of nurse-managed health centers provided health

education and environmental health risk reduction;

89% provided outreach, transportation, interpretation and translation services, and eligibility assistance;

78% provided home visiting and case-management; and 67% provided parenting education.

• Other services include: discharge planning; nursing home placement; and special education. Additionally, the health centers offer services such as summer camp, grand parenting education, food assistance, blood pressure and stroke screening, adolescent support groups, family planning, dentistry, podiatry, prenatal care, and fitness and nutrition programs.

Find a Nurse-Managed Health Center

HRSA - Find a Health Center - Search Page

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Thank you for pointing us in the right direction! =)

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Thank you for posting that Executive Summary. Very eye-opening!

Thank you for posting the above links. It will definitely help many of us who are looking for similar places.

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