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Lane Community College, Eugene, Oregon
Public information officer: Joan Aschim, (541) 463-5591, aschimj@lanecc.edu
Contact: Tamara Pinkas, League representative, (541) 463-5011
For release May 17, 2006
College health clinic's unique approach wins innovation award
EUGENE - The Lane Health Clinic has been named the Innovation of the Year at Lane Community College. Every year, the national League for Innovation in the Community College honors innovations identified by member institutions as capstone achievements that reflect the spirit of the League. Lane is featured on the League website at http://www.league.org/league/competitions/innovations/display2006.cfm (scroll down).
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From left: Dennis Carr, Sandy Ing-Wiese, Mona Arbuckle, Duke Vandervort, and Marie Matsen |
Staff who helped develop the Lane Health Clinic include Vice President for College Operations Marie Matsen, Director of Health and Safety Sandy Ing-Wiese, Director of Human Resources Dennis Carr, Nurse Practitioner Mona Arbuckle, and Health Clinic Director Duke Vandervort.
Students and employees pay a nominal fee which covers most clinic services. Some services, such as sutures, medications and lab tests are offered at low cost. With the goal of providing optimum patient care, prevention and educational services, the Health Clinic joins resources with the Employee Wellness Program, Counseling Services, and Disability Services. In addition, clinic staff often work with the patients primary care providers in the community, achieving more comprehensive, cost effective, and convenient care.
In fiscal year 2004-05, the clinic provided care for 4,987 students and 796 employees. Twenty percent of patient visits are now employees. About $125,000 to $200,000 in annual direct cost savings have been made in employee time saved by going to Lane's clinic vs. going off campus for care. This is based on an average of three hours average time lost from work for a provider visit. Based on data provided by health insurance provider OEA Choice Trust, the average cost of a medical provider visit in Eugene is $141. The Lane Health Clinic currently sees 100 employees per month: That's $14,100 per month not billed to insurance. This translates to a $500,000 to $700,000 decrease in insurance renewal rates secondary to decreased insurance utilization.
For more information about the Lane Community College Health Clinic, see 2011sitearchive.lanecc.edu/healthclinic. For more information about the League for Innovation in the Community College contact Tamara Pinkas, Lane's League representative, 463-5011.
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