The Door County Community Foundation awards a $2000 Health & Human Needs grant to augment the Mental Health Program at the Community Clinic of Door County (CCDC).
More specifically, the grant addresses the increase in need for additional counseling services for uninsured, male patients requesting counseling services to help deal with job-related stress due to chronic unemployment and underemployment.
Due in part to the very nature of Door County’s seasonally-based tourism economy and the high rate of unemployment, it is no surprise that many people locally are experiencing increasing levels of job-related stress — either because they are experiencing temporary lay-offs, reduced hours, and/or chronic unemployment. CCDC has seen an emerging trend in the number of uninsured, male patients seeking counseling to help deal with the complex set of issues relating to unemployment — including but not limited to an increase in anxiety, increase substance use/abuse, and relationship issues.
In 2010 alone, the Community Clinic of Door County added an additional 12 men to its counseling services roster, and as identified by one of CCDC’s mental health therapists, “many of these new patients are dealing with the many and varied stressors related to recent job-loss, chronic lay-offs, and/or underemployment,” notes Laura Moeller, Executive Director of CCDC.
Counseling services are offered at two different locations – at the main clinic located at 1623 Rhode Island Street in Sturgeon Bay and the satellite clinic located in Sister Bay, at Partners in Health. With these additional grant monies the Community Clinic will be will be able to expand its weekly counseling hours to see more patients dealing with the above mentioned job-related stresses. A portion of the grant monies will additionally be used to increase outreach efforts to those recently unemployed in a collaborative effort with the Door County Job Center. All patients are treated with dignity and respect; patient records are held in strictest confidence to maintain patient anonymity in compliance with HIPPA.
In addition, it is important to note that the Community Clinic is the only clinic in the county that sees strictly uninsured or under-insured patients. While the Community Clinic is not a “free” clinic no one will be turned away due to an inability to pay. Fees, including those for its counseling services, are based on family size and income and are offered on a sliding fee scale. Patients are asked to contribute what they can, when they can. No one is turned away for health care or counseling services, regardless of their ability to pay. For more information about the Community Clinic of Door County or their mental health care services contact 920.746.8989 or 888.698.8989; check out the clinic’s Website at: www.communityclinicofdoorcounty.org, or join the Community Clinic on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CommunityClinic.
