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The populations served by CHIPS have long endured limited access to affordable healthcare. In the late 1980’s the pastors of St. Teresa of Avila, St. Mathew the Apostle and St. Alphonsus Ligouri (“The Rock”) churches were inundated with requests for assistance and overwhelmed by the growing needs of the people who lived in the neighborhoods surrounding their parishes.
The pastors met with a group of community residents and church members that included Nurse Practitioner and Public Health Executive Judy Bentley, to identify areas of greatest need. Ultimately, the pastors asked Mrs. Bentley to create a program that would help residents of this north St. Louis community, particularly the uninsured, access healthcare and social services.
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Past location in the basement of St. Teresa Avila Catholic Church
CHIPS - Community Health-In-Partnership Services - opened a health clinic in the basement of St. Teresa’s Church in 1990. Mrs. Bentley’s original plan was to compliment the city’s existing healthcare system by doing health assessments and referrals. She recalls that, “I thought I could do blood pressure screenings, make referrals and retire. But it kept growing.”
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Current location |
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The clinic that started in a church basement keeps growing because a majority of the people who come seeking healthcare cannot afford the minimum office visit fees at federally funded clinics, and many individuals who do have Medicare or Medicaid cannot afford to pay the deductibles. CHIPS receives no federal funding or support from United Way for medical services to the uninsured, but no one is turned away because of inability to pay.
Over the last 16 years CHIPS has become a critical access point for healthcare and social services, providing underserved residents of North St. Louis and the surrounding metropolitan community over 24,000 service encounters a year. Every year CHIPS’ providers, volunteers and donors give over $1,000,000 in time, professional skills and financial support to bring preventive and primary care, dentistry, behavioral health, wellness programs, health education and managed referrals to a high risk population. The CHIPS team provides the information and encouragement clients need to take personal responsibility for their health and participate actively in achieving wellness. As a result, CHIPS reports that less than one percent of their clients were hospitalized last year, saving the community approximately $6,000,000 in charity care.
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