Good Folks of York County invest in people’s health

As they have done for 24 years, the Good Folks of York County met Wednesday, a time of good conversation, good food and good fellowship.

It’s the group’s only meeting of the year, and the only action was opening their checkbooks, wallets and purses for donations to help worthwhile charities.

Since 1991, Good Folks has raised more than $1 million for 38 groups, helping agencies do things such as buy buses or furniture or make changes at their buildings.

On Wednesday, Good Folks donors chose a different path, investing in the health of some of the neediest residents of York County.

Good Folks hoped to surpass last year’s donation record of $100,000 to help the Affinity Health Center and Christians to Feed the Hungry, both Rock Hill organizations who serve York County and beyond.

Affinity Health Center, formerly Catawba Care, asked Good Folks for transitional funding as it assumes the health care program that the Early Learning Partnership of York County has offered for the past 13 years.

The move from the Early Learning Partnership to Affinity Health Care started two years ago when the respective executive directors attended a nonprofit conference on collaboration.

Teresa Creech, executive director of the Early Learning Partnership, was looking for options for its health care program. “The medical game was getting too complicated for us,” she said. The Early Learning Partnership’s focus is the academic readiness of children from birth to age 6.

Health is an important component of the mission and the Early Learning Partnerships and the four school districts in York County have worked together, adding a clinic to serve children at the Family Resource Centers in Clover, Fort Mill, Rock Hill and York.

Anita Case, Affinity Health Center’s executive director, has been looking for ways to expand the center’s client base. Previously known as Catawba Care, it was the regional medical provider for people with HIV and AIDS. Last May, Catawba Care announced plans to be a federally recognized community health center, serving a more diverse population. It changed its name to Affinity Health Center.

The clinic’s move from Early Learning Partnership to Affinity Health Center was a good fit for both organizations, their executive directors said.

The move allows Affinity Health Center to instantly double the number of patients it sees, from 500 to more than 1,000. The center’s goal is to serve about 4,000 people by 2016, still less than 10 percent of the more than 65,000 estimated low-income people in York County who don’t have regular health care.

The trust the patients have in the doctors and nurses through the Early Learning Partnership program won’t change. Affinity hired the staff that rotates among the four centers.

The trust is important, Case said, because most of the families who use the Family Resource Centers don’t have experience in navigating the traditional health care system.

With the move, Alliance Health Center is expanding service at the Family Resource Centers. Adults will now have access to the care their children have.

“The Family Resource Centers become a one-stop center for care,” Case said. “This is more the just appointments and prescriptions, it’s about relationships.”

Alliance Health hopes Good Folks can raise about $75,000 in transitional funding for the clinics. Alliance has been operating the clinics since July and hopes to operate them year-round. Previously, the clinics were open only during the school year.

The move allows the Early Learning Partnership to focus its efforts on helping children learn to read and other early development skills.

‘We need more help’

The Rev. Ronal King of Christians to Feed the Hungry said his nonprofit will use whatever Good Folks can give.

“We need more help than ever before,” King said. The number of people in crisis continues to rise with more people homeless, he said.

A long-term goal would be to build another homeless shelter to serve York County, he said.

For the short term, King said he will use the Good Folks money to buy food and kerosene for home heating. While the price of gasoline has fallen, kerosene prices still are about $4 a gallon, King said.

Good Folks officials said they also hope to use some of Wednesday’s donations to establish an endowment so they can continue to meet community needs.

This story was originally published December 9, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "Good Folks of York County invest in people’s health."