History

Organizational History

TLCCS is a non-profit community health center that was established in 1994 to provide primary care medical and dental services to the tri-county area, but has since expanded to include mental health services and care to migrant and seasonal farmworker populations. The corporate offices are located at 32033 Beaver Run Drive, Salisbury, MD 21804.

TLCCS began rendering primary care services on July 5, 1994. TLCCS services were expanded to include mental health services in October of 1994. In 1999, TLCCS opened a pediatric office in Salisbury in order to increase ease of access to care to the pediatric population in Wicomico and the eastern portion of Worcester County. TLCCS increased its dental and adult medicine capacity in March of 2000 by doubling the square footage of its Elm Street facility in Princess Anne. In March 2003, Salisbury pediatric office was relocated to a larger facility in order to accommodate internal medicine and OB/GYN. In August 2006 Mental Health was started in Salisbury and on January 1, 2007 Eastern Shore OBGYN at 223 Phillip Morris Drive in Salisbury merged with TLCCS.

In CY06, TLCCS served 13,770 individuals. The medical department, which includes internal medicine, pediatrics and OB/GYN of TLCCS, provided 70,339 visits to 10,861 patients. Dental services are over 8,264 visits were provided to over 3,920 patients in 2006. The mental health department has seen 999 clients providing 10,166 visits. Our enabling services, which includes our case managers, translation, and transportation has been utilized by 5,357 clients and over 15,290 visits.

The number of employees has increased from 26 to 250+ over the past 16 years. Back to top

Services

TLCCS has a proven record for addressing the health needs of the three lower county area of the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Well-known throughout the community, TLCCS promotes health awareness in the community, educates community members about disease prevention, and links them to TLCCS for care when appropriate. After linking patients to care, TLCCS utilizes an integrated, patient-oriented system of care comprised of services and coordinating mechanisms that track patients through medical, mental health, and dental services.

TLCCS has created a "medical home" that allows patients to receive comprehensive medical care, mental health services, nutritional counseling, case management, dental, and pharmacy services all in one place. Through community based referrals and programs our patients can also freely access substance abuse services and specialty care. Patients can access these services and be followed by TLCCS providers through many levels of care-on-site and in the hospital. In addition, there are case management and outreach services and community based linkages to other programs to help patients deal with barriers to care and maintain prescribed health care regimens.

TLCCS has linkages and agreements with various businesses, non-profits, and government entities. Among them is the community hospital where patients in need are admitted, the local school systems, the three local health departments, transportation services and translation services. TLCCS is a founding member of Maryland Community Health System that is a 50% shareholder of Priority Partners Managed Care Organization—a Medicaid managed care organization—and Community Health Integrated Partnership, a statewide Practice Management Network comprised of eight community health centers in Maryland working together to determine best practices for the centers. Our direct care services are specifically: Back to top

General Primary Care

Services provided through the Adult Medicine and Pediatric departments are ambulatory care, referrals, arrangements for hospital admissions, and sub-specialty consultations. Ambulatory medical services can include complete history and physical exams, mental health evaluations, diagnostic tests, ESDPT screening, nutritional assessments and consultations. Back to top

Dental Care

TLCCS is the primary provider of dental services to the tri-county area and is virtually the only provider for the indigent and medical assistance populations. We offer comprehensive dental services with the emphasis on prevention and restoration. Through agreements with area agencies we also provide Head Start screenings, migrant school screenings and a school-based sealant program. In order to address the increased dental emergencies, we added an oral surgeon in 2005. Back to top

Mental Health Services

People seek mental health care at TLCCS because they recognize that our approach facilitates coordination with their medical care and other services received. Our reputation is for providing school based and family based treatment. The comprehensive range of care includes initial evaluations; individual psychotherapy; counseling for couples, families, or groups; and treatment with psychiatric medications. Other offerings include a court-mandated group for divorcing couples and parenting classes. Back to top

Obstetrics and Gynecology

TLCCS participated initially in the Tri County Perinatal Council and ran the Baby Net Programs from 1998 to 2003. The Perinatal Council was a network of three health departments, the March of Dimes, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, the OB/GYN department, and TLCCS. Our purpose is to reduce the infant mortality rates in our area and assures prenatal care by removing existing barriers to care. TLCCS assured access to prenatal care by paying for uninsured care in the tri-county area including prenatal visits, sonograms, labs and prescriptions. In 2002, TLCCS contracted OBGYN services to Eastern Shore OBGYN, a six group physician service who has since merged with TLCCS. Services are being offered in Princess Anne and Salisbury. Back to top

Case Management & Outreach

TLCCS offers case management and outreach through a partnership with the three local county health departments. The target is to help identify and eliminate barriers that the patients face in accessing and sustaining quality health care. Services include comprehensive assessments, linkages and referrals, care planning, advocacy, monitoring and outreach, supportive counseling, collaboration and consultation with multidisciplinary providers, coordination of care between providers at TLCCS and in the community, and resource identification or development.

Specific areas of concern include insurance and pharmacy coverage, income and entitlements, job training/education, housing, transportation, substance abuse, HIV prevention education, mental health issues, emergency financial assistance, legal issues and planning as well as concrete needs such as food, and medically-necessary items.

Case Managers/Outreach workers provide services to patients who need significant additional support to access and maintain compliance. Referrals will be received from TLCCS clinicians for patients who are at-risk for becoming non-compliant to the medical and psychosocial treatment plan. Outreach workers will develop relationships with various organizations within the community and educate the organizations' staff about the needs of the patient and the availability of resources in the community. Back to top

Nutritional Services

The management of medical risk factors (e.g. high cholesterol) through modifications of current nutritional intake can significantly improve quality and quantity of life. To assist patients in accessing and/or maintaining optimal nutritional health, TLCCS has a registered dietitian who provides medical nutrition therapy (MNT) to patients in need. Services include nutrition assessments, diabetic education, heart healthy diet education, weight loss programs and assessments for need and provision of select nutritional supplements. Back to top

Pharmaceutical Access

Drug therapies play a central role in the management of acute and chronic diseases. To assist patients obtaining medications, TLCCS, Inc. started a retail pharmacy in Princess Anne, Maryland in January 2007. Since June 2006 TLCCS had a relationship and a stock of 340B medications in Delmarva Pharmacy. TLCCS purchased Delmarva Pharmacy as of October 2009. Thru these pharmacies patients access affordable medications. Back to top

Teaching

TLCCS is committed to maintaining a variety of educational partnerships that, in addition to training future health care workers, will support our own staff development and foster continuous improvement and innovation. TLCCS has affiliations with the area schools to provide experiences for students. The programs include graduate and undergraduate social work, undergraduate and advanced practice nursing, dental residents and undergraduates, medical graduate, and physician assistants. Teaching affiliations include University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, Eastern Shore AHEC, Salisbury University, George Washington University, Wilmington College, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, and the Lutheran Medical Center of New York. Back to top