Good Samaritan Health & Wellness Center – Jasper, GA

With the help of a consultant from the Georgia Center for Nonprofits and the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University, our board began a process of intense strategic planning and scenario analysis to determine our best route forward. This resulted in the unanimous decision in January of 2011 to pursue Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) status.

As a FQHC Good Samaritan provides medical, dental, vision, pharmaceutical, substance abuse, and mental health care to adults, families, and children in Georgia for Pickens and surrounding counties– whether they have insurance or not. Our mission is to provide quality, compassionate, and complete healthcare for all in an atmosphere of respect and dignity. Good Samaritan is committed to providing quality healthcare to those in our community and surrounding communities and removing any barriers to care, including financial ones.

Good Samaritan is also recognized as a Patient Centered Medical Home. A patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a model of care in which patients work directly with their primary care provider and take an active role in their comprehensive integrated care. The provider works to advocate and arrange appropriate care with other qualified providers and community resources as needed. This model of care is relationship-based which focuses on the whole person. The medical home practice actively supports patients in learning to manage and organize their own care at the level the patient chooses. Recognizing that patients and families are core members of the care team, medical home practices ensure that they are fully informed partners in establishing care plans.