Editor’s note: This is the seventh article in a 15-part series highlighting the progression of important stories and issues as the new year approaches.

A volunteer group of medical professionals and concerned citizens are focusing their attention on the impact of health care in the community.

The group is known as the ”Health Care Action Team,” which is a subcommittee of the city’s Strategic Planning and Partnerships Commission. The group in 2014 had several focuses, but two that stood out were assisting local medical facilities in recruiting physicians through its incentive grant program and drawing awareness to the community’s drug problem.

Dr. Lillian Ney, HCAT chairwoman, said the committee helps in recruiting physicians by getting to know the young people in the community who have an interest in pursuing a career in health care. She said through internships and job shadowing, HCAT is getting local medical professionals involved with working alongside future health care physicians. Through the committee’s Grow Your Own Program, Ney said they are trying to discover all they can about anyone in the community who is studying medicine.

”We, I guess, have done a lot of networking and encouraging. We’re connecting the dots,” Ney said. ”I don’t want to lose them because it is so critical.”

Ney said it is critical to assist in recruiting local people through the incentive because many of the community’s health care practices don’t have the same funding available that larger medical facilities have to convince new doctors to work in their cities. This is one reason why HCAT, earlier this year, asked local foundations to donate money toward a recruitment incentive fund for physicians.

HCAT’s previous incentive was $10,000 for new medical professionals, but the group raised enough funds to offer $20,000 to $50,000 based on the physician’s area of expertise. Even with this additional funding, Ney said they still have a difficult time competing with medical organizations that can pay higher salaries and offer larger incentives, which is mainly paying off the high balance of education loans most new physicians have when they start their career.

”Recruitment of physicians is highly competitive,” she said. ”It is easier for a larger facility to recruit than a smaller practice.”

Despite the difficulties, Ney said HCAT has been able to help recruit one local physician – Kaitlin Ames – who is a family medicine specialist who will start working for Family Health Medical Services next year. Ney also said they were almost successful in recruiting another local medical professional – Courtney Sampson. However, Sampson is heading to St. Vincent Hospital in Erie, Pa. However, that hasn’t stopped Ney from continuing her recruiting pitch for the hospitalist, who has a three-year contract with St. Vincent.

”I’m pleased she is close by,” Ney said. ”I’m keeping my fingers crossed that in three years she might merge back to Jamestown.”

HCAT has also given incentive grants to Drs. Ashok and Khushboo Movva. Ashok will be working at WCA Hospital and Khushboo is working for Jamestown Area Medical Associates.

”The recruitment of the Drs. Movva was a joint, collaborative effort between JAMA-(Great Lakes Physician Practice) and WCA Hospital to bring new physicians to Jamestown,” Dr. Ney said. ”HCAT is very pleased at the addition of these two qualified physicians to our community and are happy to award our physician recruitment grant award to these two organizations. We are very pleased to acknowledge and congratulate the hospital and JAMA physicians group for working together on these recruitments.”

Ney said HCAT has been assisting local medical facilities in recruiting physicians for three years. She said HCAT doesn’t recruit the physicians, but facilitates in drawing medical professionals to the community. She said by the summer of 2015, HCAT will have given a physician recruitment incentive grant to at least six medical professionals, with the possibility being a total of eight.

The criteria for applying for a recruitment grant is the physician has to be working and living in the Jamestown area, and their field of concentration is an area of need. The group’s priority list includes primary care physicians at No. 1. Orthopedics was second on the list, with neurology and neurosurgery, which should be connected to an academic center, third and fourth on the list, respectively.

STRIKING BACK AT THE WHITE PLAGUE

The Health Care Action Team hosted a community education lecture for the public entitled ”Striking Back at the White Plague” at Jamestown Community College in September. HCAT partnered with the United Way for the presentation. Other sponsors include Jamestown Community College, the city of Jamestown, Chautauqua County, Jamestown Public Schools, the Mental Health Association, Chautauqua Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council, The Resource Center, Burgett & Robbins LLP Attorneys, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, WCA Hospital, Jamestown Area Medical Associates and The Post-Journal.

The forum featured three speakers: Harry Snellings, Jamestown public safety director and police chief, Dr. David Withers, a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians who is board certified in both emergency medicine and addiction medicine, and Dr. Karen McElrath, an endowed professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Fayetteville State University in Fayetteville, N.C.

”HCAT was very happy to put that forward,” Ney said. ”The three speakers were incredible. It was outstanding.”

Ney said around 400 people attended the forum. Since then, she said HCAT has been following up with what was discussed that night. One way to fight the drug problem is by lowering the demand for heroin and illegal opiates. Ney said there is a new health program being organized to start educating children starting in kindergarten. The program is called ”Innov8, Collabor8 and Educ8.” Ney said Christine Schuyler, county Social Services commissioner and public health director, is presenting the program to groups like the county superintendents and the county School Boards Association. She said the program addresses social ills like drugs, obesity and unemployment. The program is modeled after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program and another one created in Michigan.

”It requires a culture shift,” Ney said about fighting the community’s drug problem.

Another issue HCAT is working on addressing is a long-term rehab facility. As of now, there are short-term rehab facilities for seven to 28 days, but nothing that lasts six to 12 months. However, medical professionals are discussing the idea of starting a long-term facility in the county that would offer people housing, support and employment.

”This would offer more hope than a short term (rehab facility),” Ney said.

In September, Rick Huber, Jamestown’s Mental Health Association executive director, discussed the proposal during a HCAT meeting for a self-funded, long-term detox residential rehabilitation facility for recovering addicts in Chautauqua County. The facility would be self-funded by operating two businesses. One business would be an organic farm and the second would be a laundry facility for county medical and nursing home facilities. Those who would be staying at the long-term residential rehabilitation facility, which would be know as ”A Clean Start,” would work at the two proposed businesses.

Huber said the recovering addicts would have paying, full-time jobs at the laundry facility. He said most of the pay for the workers would be held in escrow while the workers live at the rehab facility receiving room and board for at least a year. They would be paid the rest of the money they earned when they are released. Huber said the proposal would give recovering addicts a safe place to work while being close to those helping them. The rehab facility would have 50 to 60 beds.