Statements

Mission

HOPE Family Health restores dignity, faith, health, and hope in those we serve by making them partners in the healing process and providing them with competent, loving care. We envision a future in which quality care for the mind, body and spirit is readily available to all.

Background

Like many nonprofits, HOPE was created to meet an acute need in a beloved community. In the summer of 2004, two mid-level providers in the Westmoreland, Tennessee area began to discuss starting an entirely different kind of clinic: one where patients received treatment based on need rather than ability to pay. Medically under-served and geographically isolated, area residents struggled with pervasive poverty, sparse health insurance coverage, and a high incidence of chronic illnesses. In January 2005, practitioners Jennifer Dittes and Mary Linville opened the doors of HOPE Family Health, fueled by a desire to care for patients who were falling between the cracks; to validate the dignity and potential of each person receiving care; and to restore hope and health to the community. The first year brought both rewards and challenges. HOPE started out in a double-wide mobile home-turned-clinic filled with employees, donated furniture and charts. The undeniable need proved unrelenting as patients, many of whom had delayed care to the point of crisis, poured through the doors. Prayer for spiritual, emotional, and financial sustenance quickly became a daily practice. The grace of God and the generous support of individuals, congregations, and local foundations literally kept HOPE alive. (This is still true today!) Our relationships with patients and their sheer faith in our abilities convinced us that love, respect, and compassion are infinitely more important in the healing process than state-of-the-art equipment or facilities. This trial by fire assured both founders and staff that they possessed the commitment, flexibility, and heart to make it through the hardest of times. In June 2012 HOPE was awarded status as a Federally-Qualified Health Center, providing long-term federal funding and a stable foundation from which to expand. Since the early days, HOPE has grown by leaps and bounds; from a group of 4 to a team of more than 60, from a double-wide trailer to a shining, light-filled facility with one additional site. In addition to providing our patients with high-quality primary medical care, we now offer behavioral healthcare, access to dental care, pharmacy services, interpreter services, and the support of a certified application counselor. In 2022 HOPE offered over 20,000 medical, mental health, and dental visits! And in late 2023 a long-cherished dream of expansion became reality when a third location, HOPE Gallatin, opened its doors.

Impact

Please find below a few of HOPE's significant accomplishments and program highlights from the last year. (More details are available in the 'Programs' portion of our profile.)

GROWTH IN OUR CAPACITY: Effective 2022, we received our most extensive ever award from HRSA of $2,069,800.00 for ongoing base funding as a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). These vital funds help make up the difference between our cost to serve the uninsured, and the nominal revenue we bring in from self-pay patients through our discounted Sliding Scale Fee structure. Due to the ongoing support in response to the needs of our patients in this service area along with unique expansion opportunities offered through the ACA, we have grown at a swift pace in the last few years. When HOPE first received FQHC status, we had just nine staff members. HOPE currently operates with 66 staff members to include six* medical providers, six mental health providers, four pharmacists, an outstanding nursing team, seven administrators, and invaluable support staff. (*HOPE's CEO, CMO and Director of Medical Services are also licensed medical providers and also currently serve in Administrative roles at HOPE.) This increased capacity has allowed HOPE to serve a growing patient body through a greatly expanded scope of services. In CY2012, HOPE served 1,773 patients through 4,749 encounters. In CY2022, HOPE served 4,873 unduplicated patients through nearly 20,000 encounters. (To learn more about the impact of our specific lines of service, please see the Programs section.)

We are also proud to report that in 2022 we received several recognitions from HRSA. First, HOPE received a perfect score on our federal HRSA audit. This achievement required months of preparation on the part of all of HOPE's staff, particularly its Administrative Team led by COO Cassandra McNulty and the compliance department.

HOPE also received 5 quality awards from HRSA:
1) An Access Enhancer Badge for increasing the total number of patients served and the number of patients who receive at least one comprehensive service, such as dental or BH, in addition to primary care by at least 5%. HOPE saw a steady increase of users and encounters across all its service lines from 2020 to 2021, qualifying us for this award. Only 34% of Tennessee health centers received this badge.
2) The Health Disparities Reducer Badge. Health centers that receive this award have demonstrated that they prioritize equal delivery of quality care for those who belong to a racial or ethnic minority. Only 31% of Tennessee health centers received this award.
3) The Advancing Health Information Technology (HIT) for Quality award. This award recognizes the enormous leaps HOPE made in its use of technology to provide enhanced quality of care in 2021, including telehealth, patient engagement and collection of data of social determinants of health in HOPE's patient population. Only 48% of Tennessee health centers received this recognition.
4) The COVID-19 Public Health Championship Badge for "providing critical public health services" during the pandemic. Only the top 10% of health centers who provided vaccines to their patients received this award.
5) And finally, HOPE received recognition as a health center that has achieved and maintained Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) certification through the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a status both HOPE locations have maintained since 2017.

Finally, on December 18, 2023, HOPE fulfilled a long-cherished dream of expanding into southern Sumner County with the opening of HOPE Gallatin Health Center. The new office, located in Sumner Medical Plaza, is the result of support of several community partnerships, including Sumner Regional Medical Center, The Memorial Foundation, and The Carolyn Smith Foundation.

Needs

Currently, our most pressing needs include:
1. Patient Referrals! HOPE derives its current and future HRSA funding mostly from documented encounter data and a demonstrated need for services. HOPE welcomes all patients regardless of ability to pay. Uninsured patients with incomes less than 200% of the poverty level may use our Sliding Fee Scale, and HOPE accepts most major insurance plans.
2. Unrestricted Donations. These funds help close the gap between what a medical visit costs HOPE (an average of $275.66) and the amount of clinical revenue collected (an average of $119 per visit.) Currently, 23% of HOPE's patient base is uninsured, and more than 95% of those uninsured fall below 200% of the federal poverty line. In 2024 HOPE launched its partnership tiered donation program to make increased involvement possible for other individuals and organizations that want to join us in fulfilling our mission. (See the "General Information" section.)
3. Donations to the HOPE Assistance Fund. Even with our significantly discounted fee structure, many HOPE patients struggle to afford care. This fund helps to cover expenses for extremely vulnerable patients and helps pay for life-saving services that can't be provided in our primary care setting.
4. Prayer! Truly. Thank you.

CEO Statement

It has been a very challenging three+ years for us here at HOPE due to the COVID pandemic. We found ourselves on the front lines, feeling very unprepared but having no choice but to do our best. We care for our community's most at-risk individuals, so many people rely on us for their healthcare needs, now to include testing, vaccination, and treatment of COVID. Being a healthcare worker during this pandemic has at times felt more like war than work. The day-to-day uncertainty, trauma from treating a disease which kills numerous patients, and constant turnover of co-workers often made workdays almost unrecognizable from pre-pandemic norms.

Yet, our staff have truly acted in a heroic way, working short-staffed, dealing with the grief and fear of losing over 100 patients to the pandemic, but remaining true to our mission and continuing to care for our neighbors even through the worst of times.

We persevere because we believe we are called to create a more accepting, accessible, inclusive healthcare home for our community. We believe that a Higher Power informs, inspires, and empowers us to reach this goal. We see the image of God in each human being: those who work beside us, those we serve, and those who make our work possible. Our faith allows us to rest in the goodness and provision of God during difficulty and to envision a better future, which compels us to persevere.

We appreciate your support more than I can express. Those who partner with us by providing funding, encouragement, and prayers are, quite literally, a part of everything we do, and we could not do this work without you. Thank you for believing in us and for your continued support!

- Jennifer Dittes, PA-C, CEO

Board Chair Statement

Thank you for taking time to learn more about HOPE Family Health and our mission. A faith-based community health center, HOPE exists to meet the needs of a medically underserved rural population, many with limited or nonexistent medical insurance coverage, and to endeavor to treat everyone who comes through its doors, regardless of their ability to pay. In the years since we opened, HOPE's staff has witnessed God's involvement in and blessings on HOPE. We have often felt His guidance and seen His hand in our decision-making process, in everything from staffing to patient care to the setting and reaching of short- and long-term strategic goals.

HOPE opened in 2005, beginning as a tiny medical practice in a double-wide trailer with just four employees. It faced numerous challenges over the years, but word of mouth grew and HOPE developed a loyal patient base. In 2012 HOPE became a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), providing it with a secure financial base that enabled it to grow. In the ensuing years, HOPE has gradually expanded its services to include primary medical care, behavioral health, access to dental care, and in-house pharmacy services.

I joined HOPE's Board of Directors in 2014 and am honored to be in my second year serving as Board Chair and representing HOPE in our community. The staff is genuinely dedicated to HOPE's mission and to the patients we serve. But we need your help. Contributions from individuals, corporations and private foundations enable HOPE to offer more services to our ever-increasing patient load, providing them with high-quality individualized care from a staff that believes in and values the dignity and worth of each person who walks through our doors.

Sincerely, Brad Tuttle, Chair, HOPE Family Health Board of Directors, and Lender, First National Bank (Hendersonville).

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Health Care  - Ambulatory & Primary Health Care
Secondary Category:	Mental Health & Crisis Intervention  - Mental Health Treatment
Tertiary Category:	Human Services  - Ethnic/Immigrant Services

Areas Served

Providers new to HOPE consistently reflect that our patients are among the most traumatized they have ever seen. Local statistics reveal a community rocked by economic distress, poverty, chronic disease, work injuries, traffic fatalities, drug and alcohol addiction, and premature death. Rates of cancer, suicide, and meth production are among the highest in the state. Despite the challenges, we are grateful to serve here. God has planted us in this place, and we are called to care for His people.

TN - Sumner

TN - Macon

TN - Trousdale

KY - Other