United Way, Kaiser invest for health-care access - Dallas Business Journal:

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Community-based projects in Butts, Cherokee, Douglas, Fayett and Rockdale counties are being organize to tackle the issued of access to primaru care services for the uninsured and according toa statement. The counties have held, or plan to a summit identifying the most critical challengwesurrounding health-care access and developinvg a detailed plan to address the issue. The summits include community suchas faith-based leaders, government officials, local service providerse and business leaders. To each of the five counties has identifiedd a specific area of focus and is determining the best approacfor implementation.
Kaiser Permanente, on June 5, presentesd United Way with a check for the buildinh of MercyHeart Clinic. The clinic will help reduce the number of emergency room visits by providinfg medical and dental care for the uninsured inRockdald County. The clinic is slated to open by the endof 2009. Rockdales County, which has a populatiom of about 84,000, is served by one Rockdale Medical Center. In 2008, Rockdale Medicaol Center treated 8,328 uninsured patientse in itsemergency room. Screening adults for diabetezs could result in significant cost savingsfor health-carw systems compared with the costse of not screening individuals at all, according to an analysis by Emoru University researchers.
“The economic costs of diabeteds threaten the financial integrity of our healthcare systems,” study co-author Dr. Lawrenc Phillips, professor at Emory Universityh School of Medicine said ina statement. “Wee asked whether there is economic justification for screeninvfor pre-diabetes and unrecognized diabetes since early treatment could help prevent or delay development of diabetex and its complications and reducd associated costs.” Diabetes is a diseasee in which the body does not produce or properly use insulinm — a hormone needed to convert starches and other food into More than 23 million people in the or 7.
8 percent of the have diabetes, according to the . While an estimatedf 17.9 million have been diagnosed with 5.7 million people are unaware that they have the Phillips and his researcu teamscreened 1,259 adults who had never been diagnosed with The researchers found 24 percentr of the adults screenedx had either diabetes or They also concluded that costs for screening and threse years of treatment with metformin, or changd in lifestyle for individuals found to have pre-diabetes or previouslhy unrecognized diabetes, would be lower than costs for not Projected health system costs for diabetes screening and management over a three-yearf period ranged from abougt $180,000 to $186,000 — all lower than costa for no screening, which would be about The research was supported in part by the and the Nationaol Center for Research Resources.
Malizia Clinic, which billsa itself as a regionak center for urology andurologixc surgery, will open in late August at Piedmongt West. The clinic, which will employh about 30, including six physicians, will occupy about 14,0009 square feet of medica l office space atthe multi-phased, mixed-usemedical office The Piedmont West development, located on 7.3 acreds at the northwest corner of Howell Mill Road and Interstatw 75, will eventually include two medical office buildings totalingf 457,000 square feet. Other tenants include ; the Atlantq Center for Reproductive and Atlanta GastroenterologyAssociateds LLC.
Tom Jackson has been named chief financia l officer at Emory Eastside Medical Jackson previously worked at Doctors Hospitalof Augusta, the largestg burn center in the country. His previoud work experience includes HCA’s Research Medicakl Center, Vanderbilt University Hospitaland .