Healthcare Delivery Structures, Research Paper Example

Some prominent healthcare delivery structures in my community include long-term care facilities, outpatient care facilities, home health care, medical and dental offices, mental health services, and governmental agencies that offer medical services. All of these structures are viable for those who use them but I think the governmental health agency services are probably more effective in reaching more people who need it the most. These are usually people with low incomes and no private health insurance.

Governmental health agencies that are governed by the public health system provide services through a chain of health clinics where people can be seen and treated for health issues. They also have access to preventive care and care for infants and children such as for immunizations. Governmental health agencies also help educate people about their health and they offer services in every area such as women’s health, men’s health, and geriatric health (HRSA, 2013).

Another governmental health agency is the Veterans Administration (VA) which has a VA Hospital in my community. Here veterans of the armed forces receive care on many levels via community clinics, living centers, counseling centers, as well as health and mental care facilities (VA, 2011).

An example of the importance of governmental health agencies is in the case of a man I know who visited a government health clinic, complaining of a headache. He was seen and evaluated and they informed him that he was in the process of suffering a stroke, probably due to his blood pressure. He was given two doses of blood pressure medication and the ambulance was called to transport him to the local hospital. He survived the stroke, but had it not been for him being able to take advantage of the services at the clinic, he may not have survived.

References

HRSA. (2013). What is a Health Center? Retrieved from Health Resources and Services Administration: http://bphc.hrsa.gov/about/index.html

(2011). Veterans Services. Retrieved from United States Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/landing2_vetsrv.htm