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Family First Health

A community health care center

YDR: Heroin OD deaths more common during recovery

The reason people who die from overdose after being clean for a period of time is rooted in biochemistry, said Dr. Debra Bell, director of clinical quality improvement for Family First Health.

A person becomes dependent on heroin, or other drugs or other things that aren’t drugs, because of how that stimulus works on the brain, Bell said. Other things, like exercise, work in a similar way.

“There are parts of the brain that will be triggered in different ways to create a dependency for anything,” Bell said.

Read more from the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

CPBJ: Family First Health opens first Lancaster County medical center

York-based Family First Health has opened its first Lancaster County practice.

The primary and mental health care provider, which serves many low-income people and families, now has a location in Columbia at 369 Locust St. The office started seeing patients last week.

Family First Health – Columbia Center marks the organization’s sixth location. Family First’s other locations are spread between York and Adams counties.

Family First has been seeing more than 500 patients from Columbia and surrounding boroughs for many years, but the patients were traveling to York for services, according to CEO Jenny Englerth.

Read more from the Central Penn Business Journal.

YDR addresses who is dying from heroin addiction

The York Daily Record investigation team took a look at the 127 heroin-related overdoses and published a handful of stories that look at the epidemic plaguing York County and the nation. They also told some stories of those who lost their loved ones to the drug.

Stacey Burroughs, our behavioral health coordinator, and Erin Cosgrove-Findley, program manager of The SAFER Initiative, weighed in on the issue in the articles.

Take a look:

Who is dying from heroin?

Heroin addiction was daily battle for York woman

PennLive: Treatment with dignity: Family First Health opens Lancaster County office

Treating patients with dignity is a top priority for Dr. Marie Kellett. She says this as she opens up a Family First Health office in Columbia, pointing to a service trip to rural Virginia and a severe car accident as reasons for her passion for helping rural, underserved communities.

In her fourth year of medical school, Kellett lost her left leg above the knee after she was hit by a drunk driver. She endured 12 surgeries, spent a month in a hospital’s intensive care unit and took two months away from school to recover.

During that time, Kellett had many visits with doctors. The ones who sat down with her and had a more personal bedside manner seemed like they were more supportive, Kellett recalled. It is why she believes so much now in sitting with patients and putting their needs first.

“I would have never asked to have been hit by a car, (but the result is) I am a better doctor, wife and mother,” Kellett said.

Kellett is running the first Family First Health office outside of York and Adams counties, where the the non-profit company operates. The office at 369 Locust St. formally opened Tuesday with a full schedule of patients and no issues, office staff told PennLive.

Read more from Pennlive.

York Daily Record: West York woman ‘didn’t want to believe’ grandson used heroin

Damian Miller was one of 127 people who died from a heroin-related overdose in York County in 2014 and 2015. The York Daily Record compiled and analyzed information about each of those 127 people in an attempt to better understand who is dying from heroin-related overdoses and look for possible solutions to what many call an epidemic in York County.

His grandmother talks about losing Damian and how she didn’t want to believe that he was using heroin.

Family First Health’s Erin  Cosgrove-Findley weighs in about options and resources for those in need and our SAFER Initiative.

Read more from the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

York Daily Record: Family First Health opens in Columbia

Family First Health, which operates medical offices in York and Adams counties, has opened in downtown Columbia, Lancaster County, the York-based nonprofit’s first new location since 2009.

Opening an office on the other side of the Susquehanna River won’t benefit only people living in Lancaster County. It will also serve residents of eastern York County communities, including Wrightsville and Hellam Township.

Family First has seen a growing number of its patients come from those areas, as well as from Columbia and Mount Joy in Lancaster County, said Jenny Englerth, Family First’s CEO. Before, they would travel to Family First’s downtown York location.

Read more from the York Daily Record/Sunday News.

New Columbia center opening

MEDIA ADVISORY

Media contact:

Kate Harmon

Marketing and outreach coordinator

Kharmon@familyfirsthealth.org

717-801-4855

 

Family First Health, a federally qualified health center, opens its doors to patients in Columbia, Lancaster County on Monday, October 11, 2016. The health center, located at 369 Locust St., will be the sixth location for Family First Health which operates five other health center sites in Adams and York counties.

A community assessment in 2014 found that while health services in Columbia were available for those with insurance but for those without, affordable and accessible care was difficult to find. The assessment also identified a lack of mental health services and noted individuals may not take prescribed medications due to cost.

Led by Dr. Marie Kellett, Family First Health – Columbia Center offers family medicine and participates in most insurance plans, as well as offers integrated, on-site behavioral health services. A sliding-fee scale based on family size and income is offered to those who are uninsured.

Join Family First Health staff for an open house Thursday, Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at 4 p.m. Doors open to patients for appointments on Tuesday, Oct. 11.

About Family First Health

Founded in 1970, Family First Health is a non-profit, federally qualified health center dedicated to increasing access to affordable, quality health care. With sites in York, Hannah Penn Middle School, Lewisberry, Hanover, Gettysburg and Columbia, Family First Health provides a broad range of primary health, dental care and social services to insured, uninsured and underinsured patients with the goal of improving the health of our communities as a whole. For more information, visit www.familyfirsthealth.org. Se habla español.

Free film screening to discuss childhood trauma

MEDIA ADVISORY 

Media contact:

Kate Harmon

Marketing and outreach coordinator

717-801-4855

kharmon@familyfirsthealth.org

What effect can childhood trauma have on a child’s future? Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity.
Studies reveal toxic stress can trigger hormones that wreak havoc on the brains and bodies of children putting them at a great risk for disease, homelessness, prison time and early death. While poverty can worsen the effects, all parts of the community can be at risk.
Join Family First Health, the York City School District and Community Progress Council on Tuesday, Oct. 25 at Hannah Penn’s auditorium for the showing of the documentary “Resilience” which chronicles the birth of a new movement among pediatricians, therapists, educators and communities, who are using cutting-edge brain science to disrupt cycles of violence, addiction and disease.
Doors open at 6 p.m. The film starts at 6:30 p.m. Reserve your free tickets on Eventbrite or by calling Kate Harmon, marketing and outreach coordinator, 717-801-4855. It will be followed by a Q&A session and panel discussion featuring: Dr. Christopher Echterling of WellSpan Health; Sue Yohe, Director of Early Head Start/Head Start; Catherine Edwards, Supervisor of Family First Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership; Gladys Dyson, a Kindergarten Teacher at Logos Academy and Laura Bloss, a licensed social worker in the York City School District Office of Special Education.

About Family First Health
Founded in 1970, Family First Health is a non-profit, federally qualified health center dedicated to increasing access to affordable, quality health care. With sites in York, Hannah Penn Middle School, Lewisberry, Hanover and Gettysburg, Family First Health provides a broad range of primary health, dental care and social services to insured, uninsured and underinsured patients with the goal of improving the health of our communities as a whole. For more information, visit www.familyfirsthealth.org. Se habla español.