No, its just not the unemployed! Surprisingly, the majority of those without health insurance are hard-working men and women who either are self-employed, work for a small business or a large corporation that cant afford to provide health insurance coverage to its employees or the worker cannot afford the high premiums to cover their families. The statistics tell the story of the more than 45 million Americans without health insurance, 80% are from working families, and they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but not enough to afford health insurance for their families. CHI is the only health care organization providing comprehensive primary and behavioral health care services to the uninsured and underinsured population of South Miami-Dade County. CHI is part of a national network of Community Health Centers that provide quality primary health and behavioral health care to residents in their communities

For those without health insurance, charges are based on your particular financial situation, documentation of family size and income. For those with insurance, patients are required to pay a deductible and/or co-payment. Just as in any doctors office.

CHI receives a portion of its funding from federal, state and county governments specifically to provide services at these reduced fees to people who need them. These funding agencies include the Florida Department of Health; Florida Department of Children and Families; HRSA, Bureau of Primary Health Care; and the Public Health Trust of Miami-Dade County, Florida.

Everyone is welcome to utilize our services, including those with insurance. Approximately 74% of our users are uninsured, but increasingly CHIs services are being utilized by workers and families who are underinsured.

Yes. CHI offers exceptional quality health care to all of its patients. In addition, CHI doctors are board-certified, or board eligible. Also, CHIs services are highly rated and CHI is accredited by the Joint Commission (JC), the same organization that accredits hospitals.

Today, CHI is one of the largest community health care systems in the United States, providing comprehensive integrated primary and behavioral health care. CHI operates seven 11 state-of-art health centers, 31 school-based health centers and several outreach programs throughout South Florida.

CHI offers exceptional quality health care to all of its patients. In addition, CHI doctors are board-certified, or board eligible. Also, CHIs services are highly rated andCHI is accredited by the Joint Commission (JC), the same organization that accredits hospitals. CHIs motto patient care comes first is more than just a motto. At CHI it is a way of life.

CHI has eleven conveniently located health centers to provide primary health care services. These centers span from as far north as Coconut Grove to as far south as Marathon and Tavernier in the Florida Keys.

Every effort is made to rectify a problem or concern in an expeditious manner. We have the utmost concern for your satisfaction. It is our first priority. A patient advocate is available to address your compliments, comments or concerns by calling (305) 253-5100 ext. 4977.

Everyone is welcome to utilize CHIs services. CHI has a growing number of insured patients from every economic background and geographic location. More and more people, whether insured, uninsured or underinsured, are coming to CHI for high quality health care. The one-stop shopping model at CHI allows you to see your primary care physician, dentist, get labs tests and x-rays taken all in the same day under the same roof. You can even enjoy a meal in the cafeteria while having your prescriptions filled. For those who are insured most plans are accepted. For those not insured, fees are based on a sliding scale. At CHI, generations of families still trust the same excellent care as the generations before them.

If uninsured, to qualify for a sliding fee classification you must provide your address, family income and proof of identification. If insured, please bring your insurance card. Most insurances are accepted.

It might have seemed like the odds were against an African-American woman with a third-gradeeducation in the late 60s and early 70s. But Doris Ison, a tomato picker with an amazing ability to dreambig, never let barriers deter her from anything.

So when Ison became fed up with the lack of access to medical care in South Dade, she set out to dosomething about it. Her quest would take her before the U.S. Congress and ultimately result in thecreation of what is today Community Health of South Florida Inc. (CHI), a nonprofit health care companywith 11 health centers and more than 30 school-based centers.

In the late 60s, Ison lived the problem firsthand in South Dade. Back then, African-Americans were notallowed to be treated at the nearest hospital in Homestead the James Archer Smith Hospital, which isnow called Homestead Hospital and part of Baptist Health.

Black people couldnt even go there for emergencies, Ison told a South Dade News Leader reporter in1976. Black folks had to go all the way up to Kendall or Jackson. Even if they were bleeding to deaththey couldnt stop at James Archer. Many of our people were born on the way to the hospital and manyof them died.

Ison went to the church community to ask doctors to help. She convinced several doctors to volunteertheir time and work out of two double-wide trailers. It was a temporary solution to a gaping wound andIson wasnt prepared to stop until there was adequate health care for all.

Because Ison didnt drive, she either walked or had her family drive her to where she needed andwanted to go, including numerous meetings and community outreach events. But one day on one of herwalks, Ison encountered a group of migrant workers in the South Dade Labor Camps. Their childrenwere sick with whooping cough and they didnt have the means to go get medical care. In that moment,Ison decided to make sure her quest for health care included the migrants and many other indigentpopulations.

She was always trying to find ways to make life better for others, Lucas said. She would do literallyanything that needed to be done to try to make everyday things that people needed to be successful.

That included lobbying federal legislators; a feat she also triumphed. Eventually CHI received federalfunding after it was proclaimed a federally qualified health center. Even as the organization grew, Isonsbravery and resilience was never forgotten. Its board of directors voted to name the main heath centerafter Ison in 1976. The act of gratitude brought Ison to tears.

I hadnt cried like that since I was six years old when I heard the schoolbell ring at Neva King and mymother told me I couldnt go to school because I was black, Ison said in 1976 when the building wasnamed after her.

Before he came, my grandmother was real excited. My family was excited, recollected Lucas, who wasjust 8 years old at the time of the visit. You know I couldnt understand what the big deal was. But, shetook me with her and Ill just never forget it. I had never seen so many cameras or reporters in my younglife.

Today Lucas looks back at the magnitude of that moment, recognizing its significance and the fortitude,determination and intelligence of his grandmother. The images of Ison and Kennedy together areforever burned into his memory.

Ison continued to advocate for health care and CHI all the way up until her death at 81 years of age in1989. Her spirit for advocacy was then carried on by the leaders of CHI entrusted with her legacy. Thisincluded her niece Carolyn Taylor Pates who went on to serve on CHIs Board of Directors.

I dont know where she might would still be if she were still here today. But Im sure she would be allsmiles, Pates said. She definitely would be applauding Col. Hartley and the staff. With the teachinghealth center and all the other things that are being added, its overwhelming in an exciting way.

The 2010s shows tremendous growth for CHI with the opening of four more health centers and the first-ever teaching health center located within a community health center in the state of Florida. CHI also started offering in-house fingerprinting services for employees and the community at large, as well as offering medication delivery and extending hours for services.

In August of 2013, CHI opened its most northern locations in Coconut Grove and South Miami. The two health centers now increase access to CHI services for those living just south of downtown Miami. In March of 2014, the Tavernier Health Center opened in the Keys. Nearly half of the population in Tavernier and the surrounding communities are uninsured and considered to be a medically underserved area, according to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). After identifying this great need for quality, affordable and convenient medical care in the Upper Keys, CHI applied for and was awarded federal grant money to help open this new center. This location in Tavernier joins CHIs most southern location in Marathon, which is less than an hour from Key West.

In July of 2014, CHI became the very first community health center in the State of Florida to house a teaching health center. The Brodes H. Hartley Jr. Teaching Health Center at CHI was named after CHIs President and CEO who has been a beacon of growth and development for the nonprofit. CHI is not only contributing to the national effort to train primary care clinicians to meet the needs of the many newly insured from the Affordable Care Act, but the medical residents are bringing a higher level of quality to the organization. The Graduate Medical Education program is fully accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), and CHIs Ambulatory, Laboratory and Behavioral Health Services are accredited by The Joint Commission. While residents, who specialize in family medicine, psychiatry and OB/GYN, will graduate with CHI as their official training site, they also rotate through local hospitals and with local specialists.

In August of 2015, CHI opened its most northwest location in West Kendall near the Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport. CHIs 11th location is right in the middle of the ever-expanding West Kendall area.

Future plans also include a master plan at the Doris Ison Health Center that will include new vehicle entrances, 400 more parking spaces, a new deli and retail pharmacy store. In addition, a childrens crisis center, named in honor of the late Dr. Jacquelyn T. Hartley, will break ground.

While CHIs humble beginnings were focused on the uninsured and underinsured, it has grown to provide health care to the insured with competitive rates. Also, CHI has patients from more than 30 different cultures making its population culturally and ethnically diverse.

Today, it is no longer just a place for the indigent. Now, the uninsured and insured get quality health care at conveniently located health centers throughout South Dade. Isons visionary words from decades ago have now turned into a reality: I just wish that people would stop calling CHI a poor folks clinic and realize that its a health center for everybody.

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