Barton Health

Barton Healthcare System (Barton Health) is a 501(c)(3) community health system that includes a licensed 63-bed full-service, general acute care hospital with a 24-hour emergency room; 48 bed skilled nursing and long-term care facility; ambulatory surgery center and 23 ambulatory outpatient clinics. Barton Health is a bi-state health system serving the greater Lake Tahoe region in addition to transient-based patients. Barton Health provides exceptional medical care regardless of an individual's ability to pay.

The Financial Assistance Program assists patients of Barton Memorial with their medical bills. It matches the patients' ability to pay according to their unique circumstance. Patients are asked to complete an application and provide financial information about their income to determine their ability to pay. The discount patients receive on their medical bill depends on their adjusted gross income compared with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services poverty income guidelines. The program is designed for those patients who cannot afford their medical bills. Barton Health provides discounts for those with incomes up to 400 percent of the most recent poverty income guidelines, and/or under special circumstances. During the current year this program provided over $6 million of gross charges in charity care.

The Barton Community Health Center provides routine medical care to Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries, those with insurance including those with high share or cost, or deductibles, or those who are uninsured. Same day appointments are generally available, which improves medical outcomes. Barton Community Health Center combines the efforts of numerous skilled professionals including nurse practitioners, medical assistants, nurses, other medical support staff, and contracts with primary care and specialty care physicians. Physicians are board certified or board eligible in the following: family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine, infectious disease, Continued on Schedule O...cardiology and neurology. Patients are sometimes undocumented migrant workers not eligible for Medi-Cal or are insured low-income patients with high deductibles. Underinsured and uninsured private pay patients are charged on a sliding scale based on income and services provided. Barton's Community Health Center serves as a gateway for patients in need of health care include, but not limited to the following: birth control, family planning services, preconception information and referrals for sterilization, substance use disorder treatments (MAT services), ADHD/ADD, high blood pressure, STD treatment, referrals for HIV services and screening for DES (diethylstilbestrol) exposure.

The following programs are community outreach programs that benefit the health of Barton Health Lake Tahoe South Shore Community.Food Insecurity Program: In partnership with Whole Foods and Starbucks, we distributed high quality perishable and non-perishable food 5 days a week to our community partners and directly to our most vulnerable community members. Distribution partners include The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless, Bread & Broth, and several faith-based organizations. We provided volunteer and administrative support to one of our largest pantries, Christmas Cheer Food Pantry, when their director retired. Support included sourcing food, recruiting volunteers, providing vehicles, and picking up and delivering food to our community's most vulnerable.Community Health Fair: Barton hosted a successful community health fair at Bijou Elementary School on October 19, 2023. Approximately 350 community members attended and received medical services and education, such as blood pressure checks, CPR training, and Covered CA enrollment support, along with community-provided services including flu and COVID-19 vaccines.Community Health Improvement Efforts: Barton leads the Community Health Advisory Committee (75-member all volunteer community board) which is focused on identifying and then addressing unmet health needs. Barton facilitated a stakeholder workgroup to re-engage with the Behavioral Health Network leaders. This 12-person working group is focused primarily on identifying and addressing the gaps in our community's mental health services and now reports as a subcommittee of the Community Advisory Committee.Social Determinants of Health: Barton participated in and financially supported the following community-based programs related to environmental factors that influence our community members' health and wellness. - TRANSPORTATION: South Shore Transit Management Association-Barton provides staffing resources to help chair a volunteer board that has created a free micro transit service (Lake Link) designed to serve at-risk populations and provide transportation to and from work, medical care, and basic services. This service was expanded to include more of the South Shore community in 2023. - HOUSING INSTABILITY: Barton hired a consultant to determine possible workforce housing opportunities with currently owned parcels. Work was focused on donating properties, evaluating parcel capacity, and finding possible development partners. - HEALTHCARE DISPARITY: Barton participated in a steering committee that help serve our Latino community members. The Multicultural Celebration provided the opportunity to educate our community members about the health system's offerings and eliminate real or perceived barriers to access appropriate care. Barton staff met monthly with community members with the Family Resource Center to better understand the real and perceived barriers that our Latino community members face with respect to receiving the care that they need. We have focused on bringing the appropriate education and care to meet these important community members where they are at.We have continued our collaboration with The Tahoe Coalition for the Homeless to expedite appropriate care and decrease emergency department visits for those they serve. We also provided staff to assist with the annual Point in Time count and understanding community needs with ride-along activities.