March 24, 2020

Fetter Health Care Network continues to provide access to affordable health care, despite COVID-19

Charleston, SC – Fetter Health Care Network is a Federally Qualified Health Center, a community-based health care provider that receives funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Health Center Program to provide access to primary care, pediatrics, OB-GYN, dental and behavioral health  services in underserved areas. Fetter’s team of doctors, nurses, laboratory specialists, counselors, pharmacists and more are expertly trained and ready to serve patients in the midst of this crisis.

Important note: Every person who comes into a Fetter health center is screened for COVID-19 risk factors as an extra precaution and, if needed, set up for a virtual triage appointment with MUSC or Roper’s COVID-19 testing system. The safety of patients, staff and the surrounding community is Fetter’s top priority.

In the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak, Fetter providers are seeing many cancellations as patients opt to stay home. “Your health is the most important thing,” says Fetter CEO Aretha Jones. “This is especially important for at-risk patients like those with cancer, diabetes, heart disease and more.”

Ms. Jones adds, “Another thing we’re seeing is patients canceling appointments when they’re in need of a medication refill. This can be detrimental to the health of patients with serious medical conditions, so we are exploring every option to ensure we can continue to provide health care services for the patients in our communities.” Before canceling an appointment, patients should call their primary care providers to ensure that they are following proper procedures to remain in good health.

“As of last week, Fetter is now offering telehealth medical visits to our existing patients as an option for those who, out of concern for their health, are not able to come into the office to be seen. Each of our three pharmacies are remaining open and we will continue to have medical staff onsite at each Fetter location to ensure those who come in are able to receive proper medical treatment,” says Jones.

Fetter Health Care Network is also continuing to offer its behavioral health services, which can help tremendously in this time of crisis. As people throughout the world, nation and Lowcountry are trying their best to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), most are practicing social distancing and many are staying home altogether. As a result of social isolation, many people experience higher levels of anxiety and those patients with behavioral health conditions may be more likely to notice an increase in their symptoms.

“We want our community members to know that our behavioral health care providers are here for them in this troubling time,” says CEO Aretha Jones. “While our nation’s main concern right now is the Coronavirus, we also prioritize the mental health of our patients and community members throughout the Lowcountry. Our team is here and available to offer holistic care for all in need.” Those who are experiencing stress and anxiety are encouraged to seek professional help. 

Fetter is asking patients who are experiencing Coronavirus symptoms to remain at home and call (843) 722-4112 to receive further information on screening and testing. To schedule a behavioral health or medical appointment that is unrelated to COVID-19, patients can contact Fetter via the MyFetterHome patient portal, through FetterHealthCare.org.

About Fetter Health Care Network

Fetter Health Care Network is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) chartered as a 501(c)3 non-profit in the State of South Carolina in 1975. They provide comprehensive health care services for insured, uninsured and underserved residents in Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester Counties. Today, Fetter Health Care Network has more than 20 different sites, a dental practice and mobile dental unit, medical labs, three pharmacies and MyFetterHome, a patient online portal.

December 9, 2019

Fetter Launches Partnership with Lowcountry Street Grocery Project

This summer, Fetter Health Care Network launched a partnership with Lowcountry Street Grocery (LSG) to provide on-site nutrition education classes at its Charleston Family Health Center in downtown Charleston. LSG is a local company that provides mobile farmers markets around the Charleston area that are sourced with produce, meats, cheeses and other healthy options from local farmers. LSG offers these healthy options on a sliding scale to Fetter patients and those in the community who shop the market that is set up at Fetter’s Charleston Family Health Center every Wednesday.

In addition to the farmers market, Fetter’s registered dietician has also partnered with LSG to host a 6-week educational course that covers topics such as nutrition, physical activity, healthy recipes and how to make smart choices when grocery shopping. Each participant in Fetter’s course receives a weekly $20 voucher that they can use toward produce from the farmers market that same day.

In an effort to make the produce affordable to the community, LSG also accepts EBT payments and patients receive $10 in free produce for every $5 they spend with their EBT card.

In an effort to evaluate and achieve optimal outcomes in the initial 6-week course, Fetter recruited 15 patients who had a diagnosis of obesity (BMI > 30), diabetes and hypertension. Each patient was evaluated by their primary care provider at the beginning of the course to get a baseline BMI, hemoglobin A1c, cholesterol panel and blood pressure. These metrics will also be monitored in 90 days, after the course is completed.

Many patients have already noticed results from participating in the group sessions and Fetter is currently in the second round of the 6-week course. One patient shared: “I love the social interaction and accountability from the group each week. By the end of the program, I had lost 10 lbs and was able to reduce the dose of my blood pressure medication! I plan to keep coming to the market every week because the vegetables are so fresh and I love that they make it affordable for us.”

December 9, 2019

Fetter Makes Strides in Diabetes Management with Interprofessional Approach

Fetter Health Care Network has implemented programs and brought on new staff within the past year to specifically address the growing diabetes epidemic in South Carolina. Through patient treatment combined with educational health opportunities, Fetter has seen positive change in the lives of its diabetic patients. The health care provider’s interprofessional approach combines pharmaceutical knowledge and dietician support to help patients with diabetes live a happier and healthier life.

In 2018, Fetter established a partnership with the MUSC College of Pharmacy to allow a Pharm-D professor, who is also a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), to facilitate Pharm-D students who are in their Clinical Medicine rotation to perform medication reviews. These reviews allowed the students to consult with Fetter’s providers and make pharmaceutical recommendations based on the most updated evidence-based guidelines on all uncontrolled diabetic patients.

Fetter set up its care approach so that any patient with a hemoglobin A1c over 9% (which represents significantly uncontrolled diabetes), is automatically referred to the Pharm-D/CDE for one-on-one diabetes education sessions. After seeing the benefit of these efforts in late 2018, Fetter decided to hire a full-time Pharm-D/CDE. This new staff member now provides care for patients at Fetter’s busiest health center in downtown Charleston, while the partnering MUSC team sees patients at all other locations. Fetter’s team also uses Telehealth technology to accommodate the large number of patients who are referred to the program at its satellite sites.

In addition to hiring clinical pharmacists who are also diabetes educators, Fetter recruited a registered dietician to its team. This team member works alongside patients with diabetes, obesity, hypertension and chronic kidney disease to educate them on health and wellness while also forming specific dietary plans to meet their needs.

In the summer of 2019, Fetter formed a partnership with Lowcountry Street Grocery (LSG) to provide a mobile farmers market to its patients and facilitate a 6-week educational course. LSG sets up its mobile farmers market at Fetter’s Charleston Family Health Center every Wednesday, providing healthy food options for patients at an affordable cost. LSG also gives $10 in produce for every $5 a patient spends on their EBT card. Patients in Fetter’s 6-week course also receive a $20 food voucher for each class they attend.

Fetter truly understands the importance of an interprofessional approach to chronic conditions and has made efforts to employ a variety of medical specialists as well as form partnerships with other community agencies to address conditions such as obesity and diabetes. As a result of these initiatives, Fetter has improved its diabetes-related UDS measure (standardized reporting used by community health centers) from having 35% of diabetics uncontrolled in 2018 to only having 30% of patients uncontrolled as of August 2019. If this trend continues, Fetter anticipates that less than 30% of diabetic patients will be uncontrolled by the end of 2019, a number that is significantly better than the state average of 35%.

To find out if you could qualify for Fetter’s educational programs offered to diabetic patients, schedule an appointment today.

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