Health forum to offer answers, information about different health care options in Powell

Powell Docs Talk, a community health forum on Wednesday, will help local residents understand the different services offered by the various health care providers in town. The forum will be held at the NWC Yellowstone Building from 6 to 8 p.m.

The health care scene has changed significantly in Powell in recent months, with the addition of 307Health and Heritage Health Center.

“The amount of diversity in Powell is pretty substantial,” said Galen Mills of Powell, a second-year medical student at the University of Washington in Seattle, who is helping organize the forum. “There is a real lack of understanding with the models (of care) themselves, and their payment schedules. It seemed anybody I talked to didn’t have an idea of the total picture.”

In years past, Powell’s medical needs were served by Powell Valley Healthcare — consisting of Powell Valley Clinic, Powell Valley Hospital, Powell Valley Care Center and The Heartland Assisted Living Community.

Powell Valley Clinic also serves as the VA Clinic for the Big Horn Basin.

In 2008, the Heart Mountain Volunteer Medical Clinic began providing free medical care in Powell, one afternoon and evening per week, for uninsured people with qualifying low incomes.

Then, in August, Drs. Mike Tracy and Bob Chandler opened 307Health, which operates under a new care model. Instead of billing for each visit, 307Health provides access to medical care and unlimited contact with the doctors for a monthly fee.    

Heritage Health Center, a federally funded community health center, opened in September, providing medical care on a sliding-fee scale, based on income.

As plans for Heritage Health Center progressed, the Heart Mountain Volunteer Medical Clinic board announced the closure of the free clinic in Powell, which will take place at the end of this month.

While these changes were happening, Mills was in town for a four-week immersion experience with Powell Valley Healthcare through the university’s Rural Underserved Opportunity Program. He saw an opportunity to provide answers for people’s questions and concerns while also meeting a program requirement for him to organize a community health project.

He took his desire to provide the community with more information about its health care options to Dr. Betsy Spomer, who formerly worked at Powell Valley Healthcare. She came up with a proposal for the forum and ran with it, he said.

Spomer and Mills have worked closely with Christine Bekes of Powell Economic Partnership to organize the forum, and all three providers — Powell Valley Healthcare, 307Health and Heritage Health Center — will have representatives at the forum to provide information and answer questions.

“There are so many changes in health care nationally, and in Powell, too,” Mills said. “It’s easy to get frustrated and think there’s not a lot of options in a small town.”

But in actuality, he said, Powell now offers several health care models.

In addition to explaining how their services differ, Mills said the three providers will talk about how they work together to meet patients’ needs, and the medical needs of the public.

“I want to see this as almost a representation of solidarity amongst the health care providers in Powell,” he said. “I want to see them stand together and show how, really, they are interconnected. If they support each other, they will be able to offer better care to the community. I’m so grateful that they’re willing to take time out of their schedules to participate.”