Press Release

Release Date: May 19, 2008
HRCHC Contact: Communications Department
Telephone: (207) 861-3466
Email: Communications@HealthReach.org

Two Maine Health Centers of HealthReach Receive Betterment Grant

Waterville, ME -- Connie Coggins, President/CEO is pleased to announce the receipt of a generous grant for $50,000 from The Betterment Fund. The donation will be utilized towards the implementation of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) at Bethel Family Health Center and Western Maine Family Health Center (Livermore Falls). HealthReach began implementing the new system in July 2007 at Lovejoy Health Center in Albion and is rolling it out at its eleven practices during 2008 and 2009.

HealthReach Community Health Centers provides healthcare and prevention services to 32,000 Maine residents annually in more than 80 towns in central and western Maine. The EMR system will replace the paper records that the health centers currently utilize. "EMR is already increasing our ability to improve care for our health center patients,” states Coggins. “EMR technology will guarantee our medical providers better access to patient data and charts, which speeds responses to patients and increases patient satisfaction. Our improved efficiency will assist us in scheduling patients sooner and confirming appointments regularly to identify patients who need to reschedule and fill in the gaps with patients seeking to be seen right away. The EMR system also has the capability to electronically prescribe medications directly to pharmacies, along with new care management tools such as patient educational materials."

The Betterment Fund was created for charitable purposes by the will of the late William Bingham, 2nd, a resident of Bethel, Maine, who died in 1955. Mr. Bingham was a self-effacing philanthropist with an abiding interest in education and the improvement of health services in the State of Maine.

Bethel Family Health Center and Western Maine Family Health Center are two practices of HealthReach Community Health Centers, a system of eleven federally qualified health centers in central and western Maine. Dedicated providers deliver first-class healthcare to residents in their own communities. To ensure access for everyone, HealthReach accepts Medicare, MaineCare, major insurances and offers an Affordable Care Program based on family size and income to the uninsured and underinsured. A private, non-profit organization with a 30-year history, HealthReach is funded by patient fees, grants and individual donations.