Klamath County’s Second Biggest Medical Provider Risks Losing Federal Funding
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. — The executive staff of the Klamath Health Partnership (KHP) recently issued a formal demand to its board of directors- which has been non-compliant since February, asking the entire board to resign.
The demand was made because the current composition of the board and their actions and lack of action could result in major federal funding being cut, putting the future of KHP in jeopardy.
Access To Healthcare in Klamath County
Operating clinics in Klamath Falls and Chiloquin, the KHP provides the community with affordable primary and preventative health care and believes in 100% access to healthcare. Although more Oregonians will benefit from free Medicaid as the state raises earning limits, as the second biggest medical provider, KHP is an essential resource.
Founded in 1997 by two healthcare professionals, Claude and Barbara Bergeron, the KHP is a Federally Qualified Health Center, which is overseen by a volunteer Board of Directors comprising community leaders committed to its mission, vision, and values. More than 51% of the directors are actual patients at the health center and the remaining 49% represent the larger community.
The board sets the policy, annual budget, and strategic planning while a a medical director oversees the clinical component of the center and a dental director oversees the dental clinic The administration and outreach portion of the center is overseen by an operations officer and there is a highly-qualified, mission-focused management team.
The executive staff indicated that without federal funding, KHP would cease to exist within seven months. This would remove one of Klamath County’s vital resources from the community.
Klamath Health Partnership Clinics At Risk Of Closing
The demand indicates that over $2.8 million of federal funding could be cut. The KHP’s executive staff said the board’s composition has been out of compliance since February and no meaningful progress has been made since then.
CEO Amanda Blodgett said that being designated as a federally qualified health center is vital to winning the federal funding award, enabling KHP to provide expanded services to underserved members of our community. She said, if the board is non-compliant, “We will no longer have that federally qualified health center designation.”
The executive staff at KHP say their mission to serve the underserved is in danger.