Lackey Clinic is helping patients with sleep apnea thanks to a WCF grant.
Imagine someone who works hard but still can’t afford healthcare. What happens when they become sick? They can’t afford to see a doctor, miss workdays, and lose income, which affects if they can pay for housing, transportation, childcare, or food. Their whole life begins to spiral out of control. Lackey Clinic provides high-quality healthcare for low-income, uninsured adults to be able to stabilize their lives. The Clinic offers medical, dental, eye care, pharmaceutical care, behavioral health counseling, and spiritual care for those living in the Virginia Peninsula.
“Our mission is to help the medically disadvantaged,” said Larry Trumbore, Lackey Clinic’s CEO. “So, we are utilizing technology like never before to expand the reach of our mission and provide care for as many people as possible.”
After the pandemic began, the Clinic quickly adapted and launched its telehealth services, increasing its ability to care for people remotely. The Clinic expanded further and created Lackey Virtual Urgent Care, Virtual Meet and Greets, and Virtual Same-Day Acute Care to provide better access to quality care.
Lackey Clinic staff provides a CPAP machine to another patient with sleep apnea.
“Our Virtual Urgent Care is specifically designed for people who are not our patients,” said Dr. Jill Cottel, Lackey Clinic’s Medical Director. “Within a few clicks, a person can almost instantly be connected to one of our Lackey Clinic providers and have their health concerns addressed. This has been such a helpful way to reach new members of our community, who often go on to become full Lackey Clinic patients.”
Thanks to a grant from WCF in 2021, Lackey Clinic was able to purchase CPAP machines, new masks, and tubing for patients who were diagnosed with sleep apnea. The Clinic also began providing patients with self/remote monitoring devices to gather more frequent and quicker assessments of patients’ vitals such as blood pressure and oxygen saturation levels. By innovating to add remote patient care, the Clinic is reaching even beyond its physical building to impact the community in new ways.