Guide to Understanding Florida's FQHCs and 330 Expansion ...

make the extra effort required to make their healthcare services available to these challenging
populations. Federal Program Expectations are outlined in Policy Information Notice (PIN) 98-23
available at http://www.fachc.org/cd_community%20development%20.htm. Special populations are
generally uninsured at a higher rate than regular CHC patients and cost more to serve as they often
have multiple serious health conditions associated with their lifestyle and lack of access to regular
care. To compensate, HRSA provides additional funding for members of special populations ($200
federal grant dollars for each special population patient compared to $150 for a “Community”
patient).
Individuals representative of the special populations served must be represented on the FQHC board
of directors. Maintaining board representation can be a challenge, particularly with mobile
populations like migrant farmworkers and the homeless. Health centers may be granted a waiver of
the board requirement but they must still demonstrate active input from members of the target
populations through advisory boards, focus groups or other ongoing and effective measures. Table 5
illustrates the number of Florida FQHC organizations by 330 funding category.
Table 5: Florida FQHCs by 330 Funding Category
Type of Funding Received
Number of FQHCs
Community Health Center (330e) Only 19
Only Migrant Health Center (330g) Only 0
Homeless Health Center (330h) Only 5
Community and Migrant Health Center 10
Community, Migrant and Homeless 2
School Based Health Center (SBHC) 1
Public Housing Primary Care (330i) 0
In 2004 Florida CHCs served 61,819 homeless individuals and 61,992 migrant and seasonal
farmworkers. Each of these populations has unique challenges related to their work and lifestyle.
Their mobility makes providing continuity of care difficult. Likewise both populations may be
untrusting of large institutions and the people who work in them. Aggressive outreach is a pivotal
part of making healthcare services accessible to both farmworkers and homeless individuals and
families. Table 6 illustrates selected patient demographics for different categories of special
populations served at Florida FQHCs.
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