Muslim Community And Health

HEALTH CENTER PROGRAM - THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY & HEALTH CENTER OF WISCONSIN (MCHC) WAS FOUNDED IN 2004 WITH A MISSION OF STRENGTHENING THE COMMUNITY AND INCREASING THE WELLBEING OF LOCAL RESIDENTS IN SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN. IN 2008, MCHC BECAME A NONPROFIT AGENCY OFFERING CULTURALLY AND LINGUISTICALLY-APPROPRIATE PRIMARY CARE AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR MILWAUKEE’S REFUGEES, LOW-INCOME RESIDENTS, MINORITY COMMUNITIES, AND IMMIGRANTS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM SOUTH ASIA, SOUTHEAST ASIA, THE MIDDLE EAST, AND NORTH AFRICA. IN ADDITION TO ITS HEALTH CENTER, MCHC OPERATES THE SAKINA SENIOR CENTER AND PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES FOR REFUGEES. MCHC’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES ARE BASED ON THE ISLAMIC VALUES OF COMPASSION, KINDNESS, PEACE, AND DIVERSITY. MCHC SERVES 33 MILWAUKEE AREA ZIP CODES: 53110, 53129, 53132, 53154, 53172, 53202, 53203, 53204, 53205, 53206, 53207, 53208, 53209, 53210, 53211, 53212, 53213, 53214, 53215, 53216, 53218, 53219, 53220, 53221, 53222, 53223, 53224, 53225, 53227, 53228, 53233, 53235, AND 53295. IN THIS SERVICE AREA, NEARLY 40% OF RESIDENTS ARE LIVING BELOW 200% FPL, MORE THAN 7.5% OF RESIDENTS ARE UNINSURED, AND 253,011 LOW-INCOME INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT SERVED BY ANY HEALTH CENTER, INDICATING NEEDS THAT FAR OUTSTRIP THE CURRENT CAPACITY OF MILWAUKEE HEALTH CENTERS. MANY HEALTH DISPARITIES EXIST, ESPECIALLY AROUND CHRONIC DISEASE AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH. FURTHERMORE, CRITICAL GAPS REMAIN FOR MILWAUKEE’S IMMIGRANTS AND GROWING POPULATION OF BURMESE, AFGHAN, AND OTHER REFUGEES, WHOSE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC NEEDS CAN BE DIFFICULT FOR OTHER SAFETY NET PROVIDERS TO MEET. OVER 88,000 SERVICE AREA RESIDENTS WERE BORN OUTSIDE THE US, AND MORE THAN 52,000 SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH OR SPANISH AT HOME. THESE INDIVIDUALS FACE MANY BARRIERS TO CARE, INCLUDING TRANSPORTATION, RELIGIOUS NEEDS, AND NAVIGATION OF UNFAMILIAR SYSTEMS. MCHC ADDRESSES THESE NEEDS THROUGH ITS MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL TEAM, MANY OF WHOM ARE THEMSELVES IMMIGRANTS FROM THE SAME COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN AS MCHC’S PATIENTS AND TRAINED TO CARE FOR THOSE WITH LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL BARRIERS. DIRECTLY EMPLOYED STAFF SPEAK URDU, PUNJABI, HINDI, ARABIC, BURMESE, ROHINGYA, MALAY, UKRAINIAN, SOMALI, SERBIAN, SPANISH, POLISH, RUSSIAN, AND GERMAN, WITH ADDITIONAL CONTRACTED COMMUNITY-BASED TRANSLATORS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF ITS EXTREMELY DIVERSE PATIENT POPULATION. TO INCREASE ITS ABILITY TO MEET THESE NEEDS, IN 2022, MCHC WAS DESIGNATED AS A HEALTH CENTER PROGRAM LOOK-ALIKE (LALCS46445). IN 2023, MCHC’S HEALTH CENTER SERVED 2,428 UNDUPLICATED PATIENTS WITH SERVICES INCLUDING COMPREHENSIVE PRIMARY CARE SERVICES FOR ALL AGES, INTEGRATED BEHAVIORAL HEALTH SERVICES AND PSYCHIATRY, NUTRITION, PHYSICAL, OCCUPATIONAL, AND SPEECH THERAPY, AND SPECIALTIES LIKE PODIATRY, CARDIOLOGY, AND NEUROLOGY. IT PROVIDES THIS CARE FROM A SINGLE SERVICE DELIVERY SITE AT 803 W. LAYTON AVENUE IN MILWAUKEE, WI 53221. IN 2024, MCHC ADDED DENTAL SERVICES TO SCOPE. MCHC ALSO HAS BEEN CONTRACTED BY THE STATE OF WISCONSIN TO OFFER REFUGEE MEDICAL SCREENINGS SINCE 2022. A NEW ACCESS POINT (NAP) AWARD WILL ENABLE MCHC TO FURTHER EXPAND CARE IN SEVERAL WAYS. IT WILL OPEN A SECOND SERVICE DELIVERY SITE AT 2414B SOUTH 10TH AVE IN SOUTH MILWAUKEE, WI 53172. A NAP AWARD WILL ALSO EXPAND MCHC’S ENABLING SERVICES BY ADDING A SOCIAL WORKER TO PROVIDE GREATER CARE COORDINATION AND REFERRAL SUPPORT AND A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH NURSE TO FURTHER MEDICAL-BEHAVIORAL HEALTH INTEGRATION AND SUBSTANCE USE DISORDER SERVICES. THROUGH THESE EXPANSIONS, IN 2026, MCHC ANTICIPATES PROVIDING 4,500 TOTAL UNDUPLICATED PATIENTS ACROSS BOTH SITES WITH MEDICAL, DENTAL, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, SPECIALTY, AND ENABLING SERVICES – AN INCREASE OF MORE THAN 2,000 ANNUAL PATIENTS FROM 2023. BECOMING A HEALTH CENTER PROGRAM AWARDEE WILL ENABLE MCHC TO SUSTAIN AND GROW ITS SERVICES FOR ITS UNIQUE AND UNDERSERVED PATIENT POPULATION, AS WELL AS CONTRIBUTE TO OVERALL ACCESS TO CARE AND WELLBEING FOR ALL LOCAL RESIDENTS.

MUSLIM COMMUNITY AND HEALTH CENTER?S MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE - THIS PROJECT WILL SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES WITH A FOCUS ON THE REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT POPULATION IN THE COMMUNITY, INCLUDING RECENT AFGHAN AND UKRANIAN REFUGEES WHO MAY BE EXPERIENCING ANXIETY, DEPRESSION, AND DIFFICULTIES ADJUSTING. IT WILL SUPPORT THE MCHC BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CLINIC TO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR POPULATIONS OF AGES FROM CHILDREN TO GERIATRICS, AS WELL AS MARITAL COUNSELING, SUICIDE PREVENTION, PTSD, ALCOHOL/DRUG/AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, TRAUMA, GRIEF, AND ADDICTION COUNSELLING. MCHC OFFERS PRIMARY CARE IN MULTIPLE LANGUAGES AND HAS PROVIDERS FROM SEVERAL DIFFERENT ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS.