Columbia Road Health Services

As a community and faith-based health center, CRHS provides comprehensive and affordable medical care, mental health counseling and social services to poor and uninsured individuals and families in the District.

Why do we exist?

In 1979, Dr. Janelle Goetcheus founded Columbia Road Health Services (CRHS) to address the health care needs of the poor and uninsured in Washington, DC. As a community-based health center, we provide quality, affordable medical care, counseling, and social services to families and individuals.

The poor and uninsured often forgo medical care until their health problems reach a crisis stage. CRHS provides primary and preventive health care to these individuals residing in the Adams Morgan, Mt. Pleasant, and Columbia Heights neighborhoods of Washington, DC. We take a comprehensive approach to health and healing, supplementing our medical services with counseling and free social services. Our patients are some of the most vulnerable in the city: the homeless, the working poor, Central American and African immigrants and refugees, the elderly, and the mentally ill.

What have you accomplished?

In 2000, CRHS provided 8,909 medical visits to 2,223 patients. Approximately 95 percent of our patients with known incomes live near or below the federal poverty line. More than 50 percent lacked health insurance, and an additional 35 percent were covered through public health insurance (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare).

CRHS is committed to lifting barriers that impede access to health care. Medical services are charged on a sliding fee scale according to income and family size. However, we never turn anyone away based on inability to pay. The majority of our staff is bilingual in an effort to encourage the many Latinos in our area to seek care.

Medical Care

CRHS is staffed by seven practitioners, who are supported by two registered nurses and eight medical assistants. Medical services commonly accessed include well-child examinations, school and adult physicals, preventive care, and diagnosis and treatment for acute infections. Staff also monitor and treat chronic health problems, such as hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, degenerative joint disease, cancer, and depression.

CRHS maintains a physician on-call 24 hours a day to handle patient emergencies and avoid unnecessary utilization of hospital emergency rooms. We also dispense free and low-cost medications, provide patient education, subsidize laboratory services, and arrange referrals for low-cost specialty care through a network of physicians who volunteer some of their time.

Social Services

CRHS employs two masters-level social workers to assist our patients with social, emotional, or financial issues that may undermine their health and well-being. In 2000, the social work team provided more than 2,500 direct encounters, assisting patients with applications to federal assistance programs, such as Social Security, Medicaid, and food stamps, in addition to issues related to immigration and legal problems. CRHS’ social workers also provide supportive counseling, make referrals for psychological services, connect clients with vocational training and job opportunities, provide housing assistance, accompany clients to off-site medical appointments, and make home visits.

Pastoral Counseling

Our part-time pastoral counselor helps patients address their mental health and substance abuse problems through individual and occasional group therapy. In addition, the counselor provides 24-hour crisis intervention and makes referrals to alcohol detoxification, drug rehabilitation, and mental health treatment programs. Our pastoral counselor provided 1,104 counseling visits in 2000.

Nutrition Counseling

Through CRHS’ Diabetes Control Project, a service that assists and empowers diabetic patients to control their disease, a part-time registered dietician provides nutrition counseling to educate patients about the positive effects of diet and exercise in maintaining proper blood glucose levels. Our nutrition counselor provides 135 visits in 2000.

The following story provides a closer, more personal look at the services we provide everyday:

Sarita is a young wife and mother who first visited CRHS this past fall. Her husband Sachin brought her and their infant son from India to the United States in the hopes of finding greater opportunity. Sarita and her family currently share a crowded apartment with another family. Although Sachin holds a university degree from his native country, he has been unable to secure employment. Without any income or health insurance, Sarita and Sachin rely on CRHS for affordable medical care.

One day, the whole family visited our health center to see CRHS physician Karen Betten. The parents were suffering from cold symptoms including sore throat, runny nose, fever, cough, congestion, and body aches. Their young son, Narmad, was also sick with a fever and cough. Dr. Betten diagnosed Sarita and Sachin with pharyngitis, or inflammation of the throat. She then prescribed medication for the whole family.

While this past visit was for a relatively minor health issue, Sarita’s earlier visits were prompted by a more significant health concern. When she first came to CRHS, Dr. Susan Pankratz was concerned that the curvature in her spine was caused by scoliosis. Through a network of physicians who volunteer some of their time, Dr. Pankratz was able to provide Sarita with low-cost referrals for diagnostic testing, including radiology and magnetic resonance imaging, and for an orthopedist. The tests confirmed what Dr. Pankratz had suspected, a diagnosis of scoliosis. Sarita has since received follow-up care from an orthopedist for this condition.

Through your support of CRHS, we can continue to ensure that parents like Sarita and Sachin and children like Narmad have access to high-quality care, despite their lack of health insurance.

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