While President Obama continues his campaign for national healthcare reform, Triangle providers are struggling with a growing population of uninsured residents in need of care. At Durham's Lincoln Community Health Center, financial counselor Diana Rodriguez has seen a dramatic increase over the past few months.

"I've been working here 11 years," she said. "In the last three to four months, there are so many people that have come in and tell us they have just lost their job. A lot of them had high-paying jobs and lost their insurance."

Lincoln is the safety net for most Durham residents without insurance. In 2008, 78 percent of its 36,091 patients were uninsured. Sergio Munoz is one of them. Unable to find work as a painter, he said he can't afford insurance, so he and his family depend on Lincoln for their care.

"In reality, I don't know what I would do because I don't have the resources to get the health insurance for me and my kids," he said.

A new partnership with Project Access of Durham County means some of the same patients who get their care at low cost or no cost from the federally-subsidized Lincoln Health Center can go to a network of specialty care providers in their community who've agreed to provide care at no charge.

"Over a year ago, we set out to get commitments from Duke and from community physicians," said Dr. Andy Barada, board chair of Project Access of Durham County.
"We set out to get something on the order of 2,400 and we ended up with 2,800."

The community-based network of care means patients who qualify for the program get regular medical care when they need it, avoiding costly hospitalizations or trips to the emergency room for care.

"As far as I'm concerned and the Project Access Board is concerned, we want to provide the care, irrespective of the insurance situation," said Barada.

Barada said Project Access expects to serve at least 1,500 patients in its first year.

Patients are referred into the Project Access program through Lincoln Community Health Center and must meet certain requirements to be enrolled.  For more information about Project Access, click here.