Henry J. Austin’s Capital Campaign

Vera* is a single mom who is working hard to put herself through nursing school.

She is trying to make ends meet for her children, but it’s difficult. “When New Jersey Family Care dropped me,” Vera said, “I didn’t know what I was going to do.” (Family Care recently cut the numbers of individuals who can qualify for help).“I’m diabetic.”

Every day Vera relies on medication to keep her diabetes under control. Some months, she doesn’t know how she’ll afford food, rent, and health care costs.

At Henry J. Austin Health Center, Vera gets to see a board certified doctor, a certified diabetes nurse educator, and a licensed social worker, for one sliding-scale fee. It’s kept her health stable and her determination strong.

“I don’t know where I’d be without Austin Health Center.”

*names, photo, and specifics changed for confidentiality

Growing with the Needs of Trenton
Trenton is a city with problems and opportunities. Recent economic development, school reform initiatives, and the growth of a vibrant arts community give leaders and residents alike a sense of optimism. Still, Trenton is not immune to the struggles that beset so many urban areas: a lack of affordable housing, a shrinking employment base, and an inadequate system of health care provision.

Trenton has long been anchored by three medical centers: Helene Fuld, Mercer, and St. Francis Medical Centers. With the merger of Helene Fuld and Mercer into Capital Health System and the recently-proposed move of the Mercer campus, Austin Health Center will be key to development and implementation of comprehensive ambulatory care service delivery in the city.

Patients are better served when they are able to maintain an ongoing relationship with a primary care provider, rather than using hospital emergency rooms as 24- hour clinics; city resources are better spent when a community health center such as Austin Health Center provides such quality, consistent primary care.

Because Austin Health Center reached capacity, the Center was awarded a highly competitive federal Expanded Capacity grant. This allowed the Center to increase and enhance its primary care services. Austin Health Center added a “Fast Track” department that serves patients who walk-in with no scheduled appointment. This allows the adult medicine and pediatric departments to better serve their scheduled patients without having to “fit in” unscheduled individuals. The Center also implemented a Community Relations initiative, hiring a patient advocate who both assists new patients and represents Austin Health Center at local programs and health fairs. Expanded Capacity is also readying the Center to staff a new, expanded facility, greatly increasing Austin Health Center’s

Providing a New Facility to Better Serve Trenton
The modest, 1,200 square-foot space at 72 Ewing Street that Austin Health Center currently rents from the Rescue Mission is totally inadequate to provide the health care needed by Trenton’s homeless population and the neighboring communities. Last year the Center served more than 1,400 clients in more than 5,600 visits. Often times, there is insufficient room in the very small waiting area to allow all those seeking care to enter the facility. There is absolutely no room available to provide vitally needed additional primary care services. Nor is there space to provide desperately needed pediatric care, dental services, eye care and mental health treatment to the surrounding community. Because of this, construction has begun on a new, state-of-the-art, 13,000 square-foot health care facility designed by Kitchen Associates, an architectural firm with a long history of designing and coordinating the construction of healthcare facilities.

The new facility, at the corner of Perry and Ewing Streets, will be dedicated primarily to the delivery of medical, dental, and behavioral health care, with a small area for administrative use. At the present time, space limitations only allow for one full-time nurse practitioner at the Austin Health Center. The new facility will, for the first time, enable the Center to add a full-time family nurse practitioner to provide pediatric care for families with children and a full-time dental staff to provide on site dental services. Currently, dental patients must wait between 6-8 weeks for an appointment at the main facility.

The proposed faculty will give Austin Health Center the ability to greatly expand its services. Wait times for appointments will decrease, and Austin’s responsiveness to a community that often needs immediate access to primary care will be enhanced. Austin Health Center is an example of what community health services can be: growing to accommodate changing community needs, innovating service delivery,

Supporting a New Henry J. Austin Health Center at Ewing Street
As an example of its commitment to the project, the City of Trenton donated approximately one-half acre of land at the corner of Perry and Ewing Street for the new Austin Health Center. The current cost of constructing and fully outfitting the two-story building is $2,300,000. Austin Health Center has already utilized more than $700,000 of its resources for building construction and architectural and project management fees.

More than 60% of the building cost will be financed through a twenty-year $1.9 million construction loan secured from Commerce Bank at the favorable interest rate of 6.25%. Sound financial management and increased revenue generated through new program initiatives and services will enable Austin Health Center to generate sufficient cash flow to pay the yearly $157,000 loan payments and maintain its A-level rating with Dun and Bradstreet.

Consistent with accepted accreditation standards, Austin Health Center strives to maintain a reserve balance of approximately 30% of its annual operating budget of $8.2 million. This balance is necessary to provide protection against rate freezes in base funding as well as changes in health insurance climates and percentages of uninsured patients. The Board of Trustees has determined that it would not be prudent to deplete this reserve. To close the gap between the remaining $2,300,000 project cost and the $1,900,000 to be financed, Austin Health Center has launched its first-ever Capital Fundraising Campaign.

The goal is to raise $400,000 over the next 18 months to support Austin Health Center’s expanded services and to outfit a stateof-the-art health care center to serve Trenton’s uninsured and underinsured adult and child population.

The standard of giving table (above to the right) outlines the number and size of gifts needed to reach the campaign’s $400,000 goal.

The Following Project Sponsorship Opportunities are Available

$100,000 donation

• could cover the costs of over 800 “well baby” visits, ensuring that new infants get the assessment and early care that they deserve in two, expanded Austin Health Center locations

will ensure its donor is recognized as a sponsor at the main entrance to the building

$50,000 donation

• could ensure that over 400 children suffering from asthma get the care they need to prevent unnecessary emergency room visits or hospitalizations

• will ensure its donor be recognized as a sponsor at the main reception / security area

$25,000 donation

• could provide over 500 men with PSA screening for prostate cancer

• will ensure its donor be recognized as a sponsor in the main waiting area

$15,000 donation

• could provide over 300 children with quality screening and interventive dental care in a new, state-of-the art facility that doubles Austin Health Center’s dental care capacity

• will ensure its donor be recognized as a sponsor at the entrance to either the dental, adult medicine or pediatric units located on the second floor

$10,000 donation
• could provide over 150 uninsured women with pap smears to screen for cervical cancer

• will ensure its donor be recognized as a sponsor at the entrance to the mental health and social services, reception, or records and conference room

$5,000 donation
• will double Austin Health Center’s ability to cover the costs of medications for over 65 uninsured patients for six months, a need that will only increase as Austin serves more patients

• will ensure its donor be recognized as a sponsor at the entrance to an individual’s office

$1,000 donation

• will pay for a medical exam table and stool

$500 donation

• will pay for an otoscope and ophthalmoscope to check ear and eye health

$100 donation

• will buy an exam light