Richmond, Va., Forum Explores Ways To Improve Health Care for the Uninsured

Central Virginia's health care safety net is "fragmented" and a more "efficient and effective" system is needed, according to participants at an Oct. 22 seminar in Richmond, Va., called RACE (or Richmond Acts, Collaborates and Educates) for Health, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports. The forum, which about 140 people attended, "explored and discussed" the ways human services agencies in the area can collaborate to provide uninsured residents with the "best care possible." Although the region has several clinics, hospitals and agencies to provide health services for the uninsured, the system is not coordinated, RACE for Health organizers said. Denise Daly, executive director of Richmond Enhancing Access to Community Healthcare, or REACH, said, "If we can develop a more integrated system to serve people without insurance, it's more cost-effective." Health providers created REACH two years ago to find ways to better coordinate care for the area's uninsured. The group has developed a directory of health and social services providers and an Internet-based financial screening tool for providers who treat uninsured patients (Hawkins Adams, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 10/23).