Though drops in reimbursement rates and budget cuts plague health and human services organizations during a recession, a number are still expanding.
Lexington Center for Recovery in Mount Kisco is one of them.
“In 1982, we started with one treatment site in Mount Kisco and in the last 27 years, we”™ve expanded into Rockland and Dutchess counties,” said Adrienne Marcus, executive director and co-founder. “We opened up in New Rochelle at the beginning of July.”
The Generations outpatient day treatment program will be run in the 9,000-square-foot clinic, which replaced a smaller New Rochelle center.
“Given budget cuts, we”™re just hoping to stay alive,” Marcus said of the economic climate. “We”™ve already gotten a few programs cut and we hope that there aren”™t any more.”
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Lexington looked within the community to boost the bottom line.
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A recent fundraiser titled Arts & Edibles raised about $30,000 for the organization, which Marcus said will benefit the adolescent program in Mount Kisco.
At Comprehensive Care Management Corp.(CCM), a division of Bronx-based Beth Abraham Family of Health Services, expansions have occurred as well.
CCM opened a 4,200-square-foot Yonkers site this spring; the grand opening is next month.
There are preliminary discussions of a new site in Rockland County.
CCM also operates a center in Greenburgh.
“Our goal right now is to be as cost-effective as we can,” said Maureen Connolly, Comprehensive Care Management Bronx/Westchester regional director. “We only get ”˜x”™ amount of money and we want to ensure our current reimbursement is not significantly slashed that it becomes improbable to provide the same level of care. There will be some general downsizing of rates across the board (discussing health care reform) but the question is, ”˜how low will it go until it impacts staffing and program levels?”™”
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Keeping members out of the emergency room unless absolutely necessary is another target CCM addresses.
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“The ER is expensive and disruptive,” said Mia Etienne, CCM vice president of clinical operations. “The services we provide during the day help us identify anyone who has potential issues that can prove to be devastating.”
Connolly said in order to limit ER hospitalizations and to keep members as independent as possible, “we want to really structure the environment with case management and have our own staff providing care instead of off-siting it.”
Another cost came from member transport, said Richard Rosen, CCM vice president of finance.
“When fuel prices went up tremendously, the rates we pay to our transportation vendors went up by about 20 percent,” he said. “It”™s a huge expense.”
To reduce it, Etienne said the organization got creative.
“We”™re looking at clustering transportation to sub-specialties, such as sending a group with an aid to the ophthalmologist instead of individually,” she said.
