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accessHealthNews.net
March 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 82
A medically underserved area (MUA)
constitutes a shortage of primary health
care services for residents within a geo-
graphic area. The area surrounding Sam
Rodgers Health Center, located at 825
Euclid in Kansas City's urban core, is desig-
nated as an MUA. To address this primary
care shortage and to increase access to
care for the community's most vulnerable
population, children, plans are underway
for a new 40-room, 30,000-square-foot pe-
diatric wing. It will house WIC, behavioral
health, and dental to enhance the acces-
sibility of these services—and is slated to
create 37 new jobs.
Filling the Void
The need is huge. According to the
Missouri State Medical Association (MSMA),
Missouri lacks primary care physicians with
expectations of a widening shortage over
the next 20 years. By 2030, Missouri will
need an additional 687 primary care
physicians, constituting an 18% increase of
its current workforce, to maintain the status
quo. However, the status quo comes with
its own deficits. Missouri needs 363
primary care physicians to overcome
current health professional shortages, as
stated by MSMA.
According to the latest data from the U.S.
Census Bureau, Sam Rodgers' service area,
particularly in ZIP codes 64123-64127, has
flagrant primary care provider shortages.
For pediatric care, this shortage is even
more pronounced. Add to that Children's
Mercy's inability to see newborns, and a
sizable access gap will mount in pediatrics
in the 10-county metro area on both sides
of the state line.
"The unfortunate part about kids who live
in our area is there are not enough
providers to see them," said Sam Rodgers'
Chief Operating Officer Janelle Harvey
Jordan, SPHR. "That is having more than
one impact on our kids. If their mouth hurts
or if they're sick, they can't go to school.
They can't study, and that just holds them
back and stifles their ability to compete
with other kids who have access to a
primary care doctor or a dentist."
Plans to build the pediatric wing couldn't
come at a better time and will add three
additional providers to Sam Rodgers' med-
ical staff.
"Behavioral health will be proximate to all of the other services, it is not
only huge for American children, but also for our refugee population. I
think oftentimes we forget that they are coming from war-torn areas. The
PTSD they experience we can't fathom."
- Sam Rodgers' Chief Operating Officer
Janelle Harvey Jordan, SPHR
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