genesis_web.jpgBOYNTON BEACH —Palm Beach County Commissioner Priscilla Taylor during an Aug. 8 visit applauded the work of the Genesis Community Health center while stressing women’s need to continue to be able to access a wide range of preventive health services without a co-pay or deductible.

“Earlier this year, Genesis Community Health was recognized for its great work, and selected as one of 219 health centers across the country awarded funding through the Affordable Care Act, to help expand access to care for more than 1.25 million additional patients and create approximately 5,640 jobs,” Taylor said.

“That funding is helping to not only expand access to health care but also help millions of Floridians save money and live healthier lives – especially women,” she said, highlighting practical applications of the health law.

“Women now have access to a wide range of preventive health services without a co-pay or deductible, including mammograms, pap smears and birth control, and soon it will be illegal for insurance companies to discriminate against women and charge them more for coverage just because they are women,” Taylor said.

OBAMA CREDITED

The Palm Beach County Democrat, credited President Obama for having “the courage to fight for passage of the Affordable Care Act and stand up for the rights of American women.”

DeAnna Warren, the executive director of the facility, expressed similar sentiments, noting that Genesis Community Health opened its doors in 2010 with financial support from the Quantum Foundation, “and now with funding from the Affordable Care Act, we are the perfect example of a private-public partnership resulting in better health for our community.”

The care the facility provides “is critical to our patients,” Warren added. “For many of them, cost is a significant issue that determines whether or not they seek the care they need, so our ability to provide cost-efficient services has a huge impact on the lives of those in our community.”

HEALTH CENTER WEEK

The support provided by health care reform, she said, “means we are able to hire four new medical professionals, including an OBGYN, which is allowing us to expand the services we offer for women so we can be a medical home for the entire family.”

That evening, Genesis Community Health celebrated the progress and growth of the organization, and its new status as a public-private partnership, with a special reception pegged to National Health Center Week.

On the net: gencomhealth.org

Photos courtesy of Arol Porter/For South Florida Times/Photo of DeAnna Warren