Barton Health

Barton Healthcare System (Barton Health) is a 501(c)(3) community health system that includes a licensed 63-bed full-service, general acute care hospital with a 24-hour emergency room; 48 bed skilled nursing and long-term care facility; and 23 ambulatory outpatient clinics. Barton Health is a bi-state health system serving the greater Lake Tahoe region in addition to transient-based patients. Nine ventilators and eight emergency rescue ventilators were also on-hand.Barton Health provides exceptional medical care regardless of an individual's ability to pay.Continued on Schedule O...The following programs are community outreach programs that benefit the health of Barton Health Lake Tahoe South Shore Community.Community health events: Barton Health provides free or discounted services at community health events including community health fairs, lab draws, mammograms, EKG tests, vaccination clinics, cancer wellness program, and community event medical services.Youth programs: Barton Health promotes health within youth populations through programs that educate about the ramifications of drug and alcohol use; drunk driving; the sponsorship of youth activities that promote health; free sports physicals; sports injury prevention; and health career promotion activities.Community health education programs: mailed community newsletter, mailed community benefit report, free online e-newsletters and health library; childbirth education classes; child/infant CPR and first-aid; new mom's support program; and free virtual community health webinar series.Collaboration: collaborated with El Dorado County regarding public and private agencies to create healthier communities especially within our vulnerable populations; telehealth for Tahoe that brings additional specialty health accessible through telemedicine; and hosting and chairing the Emergency Management Community Council that meets with area agencies every other month to discuss emergency preparedness and education within our community. Barton additionally partners with Covered California as a certified enrollment entity that assists residents with enrolling for health coverage at no cost.Community health improvement efforts: Barton leads the Community Health Advisory Committee (25-member all volunteer community board) which is focused on identifying and then addressing unmet health needs. Barton participates in the Behavioral Health Network (25-member all-volunteer community advisory board) which is focused primarily on identifying and addressing the gaps in our community's mental health services. In addition, the Barton Foundation funds the Barton Health grants program which provides $100,000 annually to area nonprofits that provide programs and services that closely align with our community's needs.

The Helping Hands program assists patients of Barton Memorial Hospital with their medical bills. It matches the patients' ability to pay according to their unique circumstance. Patients are asked to complete an application and provide financial information about their income to determine their ability to pay. The discount patients receive on their medical bill depends on their adjusted gross income compared with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services poverty income guidelines. The program is designed for those patients who cannot afford their medical bills. Barton Health provides discounts for those with incomes up to 400 percent of the most recent poverty income guidelines, and/or under special circumstances. During the current year this program provided over $5.5 million of gross charges in charity care.

The Barton Community Health Center provides routine medical care to Medicare and Medi-Cal beneficiaries, those with insurance but very high deductibles or those who are uninsured. Same day appointments are usually available which improves medical outcomes. The Barton Community Health Center combines the efforts of numerous skilled professionals including nurse practitioners, physician assistants, medical assistants, nurses, other medical support staff, and contracts with family and specialty physicians. Specialty physicians who see patients at the clinic include pediatrics, sleep medicine, orthopedics, obstetrics, gynecology, child psychiatry, adult psychiatry, ADHD Continued on Schedule O...treatment, urology, ENT, dermatology, infection disease, psychology, rheumatology, endocrinology, and neurology. Patients are sometimes undocumented migrant workers not eligible for Medi-Cal or are insured low-income patients with very high deductibles. Underinsured and uninsured private pay patients are charged on a sliding scale based on income and services provided. Barton's Community Health Center serves as a gateway for patients in need of health care including those seeking family planning services, preconception information and referrals for sterilization, Level 1 infertility services, STD treatment, referrals for HIV services and screening for DES (diethylstilbestrol) exposure.