November marked 25 years since the voters of Palm Beach County approved a referendum to establish a health care district “… to provide a source of funding for indigent and medically needy residents and to maximize the health and well being of Palm Beach County residents by providing comprehensive planning, funding, and coordination of health care service delivery.” More than two decades later, the Health Care District of Palm Beach County has matured into a model safety net system for innovative health care delivery.
“The Health Care District was launched with a challenging and noble mission,” said Carol A. Roberts, Chair of the Health Care District Board of Commissioners. “Over the last 25 years we are proud to have partnered with public and private community providers and organizations to build a strong safety net that ensures access to quality health care services for thousands of Palm Beach County residents.”
Since 1991, Palm Beach County’s nationally-recognized Trauma System has provided life-saving care to more than 3,000 people a year who suffer traumatic injuries. To date, more than 54,000 people have benefitted from this integrated system of care funded and overseen by the Health Care District, which includes two Trauma Centers and the Health Care District’s two Trauma Hawk aeromedical helicopters. In 1993, the Health Care District began offering health coverage plans for eligible residents who cannot afford private health insurance and who don’t qualify for other government health care programs. For more than 15 years, over 200 School Nurses have staffed health rooms in 167 schools in Palm Beach County, caring for 174,000 students each year. Residents of rural, western Palm Beach County receive quality health care services at Lakeside Medical Center, the only acute-care hospital in the Glades agricultural region. The Health Care District operates the Edward J. Healey Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Riviera Beach, which provides skilled nursing and rehabilitation for residents who need 24-hour care as a result of debilitating illness or traumatic injury. This year, the Health Care District began providing adult and pediatric services at the C. L. Brumback Primary Care Clinics located in four Florida Health Palm Beach County (formerly the Palm Beach County Health Department) health centers in Belle Glade, Lantana, Delray Beach and West Palm Beach.“The Health Care District’s mission from the beginning has been to fill gaps in community health care without duplicating programs offered at the state and federal levels,” said Ronald J. Wiewora, MD, MPH, the Health Care District’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer. “Now, 25 years later, we are proud to say that the Health Care District has evolved into a unique safety net system that benefits Palm Beach County residents of all ages and from all walks of life.”
