Crossroad Health Center

When Crossroad Health Center opened in the neighborhood of Over-the-Rhine in 1992, there was limited access to health care for the people living there.  Since opening, the community has had access to primary health care at a quality level that could be found in any suburban physician office. “It’s first class care,” says executive director Sally Stewart. Crossroad serves as a “medical home” to patients of all ages. Services include immunizations, yearly health exams, management of acute and chronic health problems, pre-natal care, podiatry and mental health services. Many staff are bi-lingual, providing Spanish interpretation.

Crossroad’s care focuses on the whole person being healthy: mind, body and spirit. “We treat every person with dignity and respect; this permeates everything we do,” Stewart says. “We value all people.”  No one at Crossroad is turned away because of their inability to pay. 83% of Crossroad’s 4,698 patients have incomes at or below the Federal Poverty Level (annual income of $22,050 or less for a family of four) and 39% are uninsured.

Crossroad’s care focuses on the whole person being healthy: Mind, Body, and Spirit

From left: Crossroad executive director Sally Stewart
and pediatric nurse practitioner Brook Gumm

Benchmarks show that Crossroad’s results exceed state and national standards. For example, 96% of 3-year-old children were up to date with their immunizations in 2008, compared to 77.7% in Ohio. Preventative care like immunizations is a key aspect of being a medical home. This is why Crossroad also focuses on making sure children receive preventive medical care visits or “well child checks” and get screened and treated for high lead levels. As a result, 94% of children treated for lead at Crossroad achieved safer levels in six months. Preventative care also helps make the “road” safer for children throughout their life. Research shows that having a medical home early in life maximizes readiness for learning, which leads to better learning throughout school, good jobs, better economic status, and healthier communities as a whole.

Crossroad remains a place for people with access-related issues. This year, 60% of Crossroad’s new adult patients were uninsured. Crossroad increasingly sees patients from nearby neighborhoods like Price Hill, where in some areas, over 80% of the population used the emergency room in recent years due to lack of access to primary care. Crossroad participates in neighborhood health fairs in Price Hill and relies on community organizations like Santa Maria Community Services to refer patients for primary care.

Relationships are the foundation of Crossroad. By ensuring that patients see the same doctor when they come, Crossroad builds supportive relationships. There is even a prayer request box for patients in Crossroad’s waiting room and each morning, the staff prays together for their patients’ requests.