Rural & Urban Access to Health (RUAH)

The RUAH program connects individuals in the community with needed services, including primary health care and preventative health services. SVCH employs a health access worker who reaches out to connect uninsured/underserved individuals and families to primary and preventative care as well as to other needed community services, identifying and removing financial, geographical, and cultural barriers and partnering with other community agencies that provide both client referrals and resources. The health access worker also advocates for patients with service providers and serves as a system navigator. Key statistics for FY 2009 include: 1,021 clients served, with 2,436 public and private program referrals.

The RUAH program also includes a medication assistance initiative that brings together pharmaceutical companies, doctors, other health care providers, patient advocacy organizations and community groups to help income-qualified patients who lack prescription coverage to get no cost/low cost medicines. An industry database shows a total of 2,425 medications at $931,432.70 provided in fiscal year 2009.

Finally, RUAH is also active in ensuring that health care services are language accessible and culturally sensitive to minimize health disparities.