A Hispanic Community Health Advocate was hired. Her available time at CHC was compromised by her other workload at Santa Maria Community Center. A marketing plan was developed and implemented in collaboration with Santa Maria Community Services.  Staff training for Hispanic client accommodation took place on July 25, 2005.  Collateral materials were identified and distributed throughout the community.

Crossroad Health Center added four hours of office time per week specifically for Hispanic clients.  The additional hours were staffed by bi-lingual staff members to ensure culturally appropriate communication.  An after hours on-call translation system was implemented to provide Hispanic clients with access to the doctor on- call (evenings, weekends).  Health education programs were offered on STDs, hypertension, diabetes, domestic violence, cancer, healthy lifestyles and Medicaid.

Crossroad Health Center partnered with Santa Maria Community Services in 2006 to continue the role of the Community Health Advocate.

• The Community Health Advocate referred an average of 10 persons per week to Crossroads for services. 
• Crossroad Health Center served 184 new Hispanic patients during the grant period.
• There was an increase of only 1% of Hispanic clients to the after-hours on-call answering service.  The goal was a 5% increase.

Crossroad was able to create partnerships with the schools and with Central Clinic, a mental health provider.  A plan was developed with the input from the advisory committee, the supervisors of the current school nurses and the project director. 

The facilitators listed in the report were the experience of the planning committee and the assistance from the Foundation.

• Three physicians completed 60 hours of language training. 
• A bilingual Medical Assistant was hired and works with the physicians as an interpreter.  The Medical Assistant also provides diabetes education and self-management to patients Hispanic patients.
• A total of 214 new Hispanic patients were served during the grant period, bringing the total Hispanic patients served to 547, with 1375 medical visits/interpretations for those patients.
• The Medical Assistant’s salary will be sustained by insurance reimbursement, indigent funds and Hispanic community funding sources, such as Cincy-Cinco.

Crossroad Health and Santa Maria staff worked at two health fairs to offer blood sugar testing and diabetes information.  Pre- and post-test questions to 81 Hispanics about the symptoms of diabetes indicated that knowledge of symptoms of diabetes increased from 10% to 72% after two minutes of diabetes education.

An extensive office market analysis was completed by each of the consultants outlining service needs for pharmacy, banking and other medical supportive services that would complement Crossroad’s service products.  A structural summary of the facility was also provided to determine the building’s marketability.  Interviews and data were gathered from potential business partners and area market trends to determine the potential customer base and utilization.

The facility structural analysis concluded that while the building is very accessible and visible, it lacks adequate parking and associated amenities in order to be attractive to potential tenants.  The consultants did recommend that Crossroad should proceed with its purchase of the facility.  Crossroad did proceed with purchasing the facility.

Several scenarios were presented regarding building use:

• on-site pharmacy,
• branch bank,
• diagnostic and dental services. 

To date, Crossroad has negotiated with the ProScan Foundation to open a mammography screening center for low-income and uninsured women.  Crossroad is also part of a neighborhood collaborative that is exploring potential shared services arrangements.