2005 Community Report - Brandywine Health Foundation

“Any place that is going to help someone
who is down on his luck is a benefit, a blessing.”
Juan Reyes, Health Center patient
Chester County is the nation’s 12th
richest county, but a 2002 Foundationcommissioned
study discovered
significant health problems in pockets
of poverty in central and western
Chester County. A year later, the U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services declared Coatesville a
“medically underserved area.”
ChesPenn’s project development team
found that the principal problems in
the area include an inability to pay
for health services, lack of health
insurance coverage and a shortage
of physicians willing to accept
reduced fees from uninsured patients.
ChesPenn is the only primary care
provider offering a full range of
services to patients of all ages,
without regard to their ability to pay or
the type of insurance a patient might
have. These include an in-house
laboratory and an on-site pharmacy.
The staff includes physicians, nurse
practitioners, a nurse site manager,
a licensed clinical social worker, a
community health educator, and clinical
and administrative support personnel.
For more than three decades, ChesPenn
has provided quality healthcare to the
economically depressed in Chester, PA,
where it currently operates three health
centers. It provides quality care
regardless of a patient’s ability to pay.
It accepts all medical insurance, and
uninsured patients are cared for at
reduced rates and sliding-scale fees
based upon their income.
As a designated Federally Qualified Health
Center in Chester, it receives federal
funding and intends to file for a similar
designation and funding in Coatesville.
In addition to its financial support, the
Foundation has played a key role in
helping ChesPenn reach out to other
foundations, businesses and individuals
to raise $600,000 of the additional
$800,000 it needs to operate in
Coatesville for the next three years.
“The Brandywine Health & Wellness
Foundation definitely has its ear to
the ground regarding community needs,
and they took a big step forward in ➢
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