With a new leader at the helm and construction about to begin on a $2 million facility in Avondale, Jefferson Community Health Care Centers are getting a fresh start after years of administrative turnover and critical financial audits. Shondra Williams, who became the agency?s chief executive officer in September, pledged to bring stability to the organization, stressing there will be accountability and transparency in its business practices.
?My leadership is one that will be transformational, transformational in the sense of ensuring financial and operational integrity,?? she said. ?Transformational in the sense of becoming more community engaged.??
Williams, 39, holds a bachelor?s and doctorate in nursing from Southern University. She earned a dual master?s in nursing and nurse practitioner from Loyola University. She spent 12 years at the state Department of Health and Hospitals managing a program that oversaw 65 clinics.
Jefferson Parish Councilman Mark Spears, whose district includes two of the three?centers, said he has not met Williams, but called the changes ?a new day for the clinic.??
?I look forward to working with her and helping her,?? Spears said, adding the clinics provide access to healthcare those most in need. ?You can never lose sight of that it serves a lot of low and moderate income people in Jefferson Parish and probably other parishes.??
In August, the state legislative auditor found that the agency?s former finance chief transferred more than $200,000 in clinic funds to her personal bank account. The report also said that she and the former executive director paid themselves for unearned vacation and doled out thousands for personal loans and a business investment.
That report came on the heels of one in 2010, in which the state legislative auditor found the agency overbilled West Jefferson Medical Center, provided interest-free loans to employees and was missing $100,000 in checks. Finance officer Ebony Williams was fired and CEO Carol Smith resigned.
Williams said the agency's certifications, including accreditation from the Joint Commission on health care, are rigorous processes and will help insure that financial operations are in order.
Meanwhile, she and the health centers? new board of directors will break ground Friday on a $2 million facility for its Avondale site. The Louisiana Primary Care Association is funding the clinic, which at more than 8,000 square feet,?will be twice the size of the current facility. The Avondale site?serves about 7,000 patients, but Williams expects the number to rise with the larger space.
The center will continue to offer primary care, preventative and behavioral services. It will add dental services and eventually a vision center.
?It?s in the heart of the Avondale community. It?s accessible on a major thruway. There are constituents who can actually walk to the facility,?? she said.
Its location adjacent to a community center also provides patients access to other resources they may need, Williams said.
Overall, the number of new patients at the three clinics, including two others in Marrero and River Ridge, rose from 10,000 to 13,000 between 2009 and now. But those numbers triple in size when repeat patients are factored in, Williams said. Doctors are treating more people with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes.
?Jefferson Parish has grown exponentially post Hurricane Katrina. That?s why it?s so important for us to be a resource to the 435,000 constituents of Jefferson Parish and beyond,?? she said.
Source: http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2012/10/jefferson_community_health_car.html
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