Quantum Invests in Medical-Legal Partnership
Local health foundation awards $200,000 to the Legal Aid Society to assist people in Palm Beach County with legal issues related to healthcare.
WEST PALM BEACH, Florida: The board of trustees of Quantum Foundation, under the chairmanship of Mrs. Donna Mulholland, recently approved a new grant to Palm Beach County-based Medical Legal Partnership project run by the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc. The private West Palm Beach-based foundation funds projects that help improve the county’s health in fresh and innovative ways.
This brings the total grants awarded to the project by Quantum Foundation to $1.87 million.
Since 1949, the Legal Aid Society has been ensuring equal access to the justice system for low-income, disadvantaged and traditionally underserved residents of Palm Beach County, with more than 8,000 clients served annually through 21 various projects. Legal Aid Society addresses a broad range of legal needs through the following program areas: Family Advocacy, Children’s Advocacy, Individual Rights Advocacy, Elder Advocacy, Health Advocacy, and Community Outreach.
Uninsured and underinsured patients at free clinics and Federally Qualified Health Centers throughout Palm Beach County face barriers to proper care and coverage. Barriers such as loss of insurance coverage, denial of benefits, financial hardship due to medical bills, and immigration issues impacting access to healthcare all adversely affect access to care. Of course, this challenge is amplified by the ongoing uncertainty regarding healthcare, the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and federal and state public benefits.
The Medical-Legal Partnership improves the health and well-being of low-income uninsured and underinsured patients receiving care at designated primary care clinics throughout Palm Beach County. Currently, the MLP provides services on-site at: C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics (Delray, Lantana, West Palm Beach, and Belle Glade), Foundcare, Genesis, MyClinic, Community Health Center of West Palm Beach, and Caridad Center. By providing free legal consultation, education, and representation centered around the patient’s medical home, the MLP increases access to, and utilization of, healthcare services by addressing barriers such as loss of insurance coverage, denial of benefits, financial hardship due to medical bills, and immigration issues affecting access to healthcare.
The project employs two attorneys and a paralegal. One of the attorneys, Christina Russo is a graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law and has been with the organization for more than four years. She loves the work she does, using her law degree to help those who often don’t have a voice. She enjoys interacting with her clients. “They’re from every background, every walk of life, and every age group,” she says. “Everyone’s situation and story is unique but they’re all facing this incredibly complicated system. People give up hope but we are expert navigators, appealing decisions and getting them the benefits they’re entitled to. It’s very gratifying work. A lot of people are intimidated and don’t have much faith in the system but there are often ways we can help.”
In addition to direct client services, the Legal Aid Society provides training to clinic staff and medical professionals to identify health-harming social conditions and legal barriers to health and healthcare, and how to recognize when legal intervention should be incorporated as part of a patient’s treatment plan.
Eric M. Kelly, president of Quantum Foundation explains the organization’s commitment to the project: “For many years we’ve been the principal supporter of this invaluable service,” he says. “As a health foundation, we’ve always been a major funder of the community clinics which serve all County residents but we’re also aware that our commitment doesn’t stop at physical health. There’s a huge demand for ancillary services that relate to ‘whole-person health’. We like the innovative approach of funding those projects, too.”
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BACKGROUND:
Quantum Foundation is a private grantmaking organization that funds approved charities and certain government agencies in Palm Beach County, Florida. Quantum Foundation’s mission is to fund initiatives that improve the health of Palm Beach County. The foundation has assets of approximately $140 million and since its inception in 1997 has awarded over $125 million to hundreds of nonprofit grantees in Palm Beach County. Every dollar the foundation grants stays in the County to benefit local communities. www.quantumfnd.org