Expanded Medical and Dental Services for Uninsured

Grantee Name

Health Ministry of the Southern Tier, Inc.

Funding Area

Special Projects Fund

Publication Date

April 2010

Grant Amount

$75,148

Grant Date:

January 2008 – December 2008

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According to the U.S. Census, 22,352 residents of the three counties served by Health Ministry of the Southern Tier (HMST) are uninsured.

Steuben County is a rural area with three primary population centers: Corning, Bath, and Hornell. The Western region of Steuben County, Hornell, is a relatively poor community that remains underserved by HMST. To address this part of Steuben County, the United Way of the Southern Tier (United Way) and Excellus BlueCross Blue Shield of Central New York (Excellus) requested that HMST establish a fifth center in Hornell to provide free medical and dental care to people with incomes below 200% of the Federal poverty level.

Outcomes and Lessons Learned

There was a lack of Hornell-based volunteers to manage and staff the center. HMST would have needed to rely on a volunteer base in Hornell, as it does in the four other clinics, because it is unable to hire paid staff.
Members of the Hornell Community questioned the need for the center, which may have contributed in the low turnout of volunteers.
Despite successfully obtaining space, materials, and local leadership for the new center, HMST did not succeed in rallying community support or volunteers to staff the clinic, and ultimately did not establish the new center in Hornell.

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