ROCKLAND — The steering committee for Improving Access to Quality Care for Uninsured Individuals met Dec. 10 at the Maine Lighthouse Museum and among the news to come out of it was the group introduction of their new project manager. The group’s mission is to create a community and stakeholder engagement process that delivers a concrete, sustainable plan for providing high quality medical, dental, mental and substance abuse services for uninsured and under insured low-income individuals in the Midcoast region.

Based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimated 2012 figures for Knox County, the population stands at 39,668 individuals. Dr. Paul Klainer, chair for Mid-Coast Health Net and founder of the Knox County Health Clinic in Rockland, said that roughly 20 percent of the county population (or 7,934 people) fall into the low-income, uninsured status. He said that for the 15 years the clinic has been open to the public, they have barely scratched the surface of the unmet need.

Mid-Coast Health Net is among five nonprofit groups across the state that recently were each awarded $50,000 grants by the Maine Health Access Foundation to help in delivering high quality and comprehensive health care for uninsured and underinsured low income individuals. The grant, made under the Foundation's 'Improving Access to Quality Care for Uninsured Individuals' initiative, will be used locally to develop a collaborative, grassroots plan to deliver integrated and sustainable services for this important segment of the population.

Eric Buch was introduced to the group as its recently hired project manager for Improving Quality Care for Uninsured Individuals. Buch said he has lots of experience in community planning and working with diverse populations within communities to tackle various social problems.

"This project is very appealing to me because we live in a time where there is a lot of change happening in the health care delivery system," he said. "This is an opportunity to help Knox County to look at where the gaps are and how we can work together town by town, or organization by organization, to make certain that uninsured or underinsured individuals can obtain the medical care, dental care and mental health services they need"

Buch said that what the committee is looking for is an attainable goal.

"It's not an easy climb,” he said. "There's a lot of attention being focused on health care these days and there are higher expectations coming to health care providers to do more to ensure that it's possible for a larger segment of the community to receive services. I think we're at a moment in time where there's a greater recognition that we need to reduce the inequalities that exist in people's inability to get basic care. As Dr. Klainer said, it's about being accountable for making our systems of care work more effectively and to reach more people."

Buch is from Montreal, Canada, and grew up in a country that has universal health care.

"It's something that I have always valued, that health care should be a right that all human beings are entitled to, regardless of station in life or income," he said. "I've been working in Maine for a good part of the last 30 years. My family always came to the Maine Coast and that's where I developed my love for the ocean and for Maine. I now live in Belfast and throughout my career I have spent the majority of my time working for nonprofit organizations.

Members of the Improving Access to Quality Care for Uninsured Individuals Steering Committee include:

Audrey Lovering (director - Many Flags), Carol Zechman (director - MaineHealth Care), Chris Rector (regional representative – U.S. Sen. Angus King, Kristie Worster (associate regional director - Midcoast Mental Health), Erik Frederick (COO - Pen Bay Healthcare), Holly Miller (executive director - Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation), Jeanne Klainer (treasurer - Knox County Health Clinic), Jeri Holm (business community), Kathy Beck (vice president - AIO Food Pantry), Larry Hills (registered nurse - Kno-Wal-Lin Home and Hospice Care), Maggi Blue (communications – Pen Bay Chamber of Commerce), Meredith Batley (director - Knox County Health Clinic), Paul Klainer (board chair - Mid-Coast Health Net), Pinny Beebe-Center (regional manager - Penquis), Rev. Peter Jenks (St. John Baptist Episcopal Church), Rick Parent (Knox County Commissioner), Staci Coomer (director – Pen Bay Chamber of Commerce), Steve Lindsay (artist/sculptor), Tony Bates (dentist) and Wendelanne Agunas (co-director of Pen Bay Healthcare's Picker Family Resource Center, which is located on the campus of Pen Bay Medical Center).

For information on the program or the committee, contact Eric Buch (ebuch@knoxclinic.org) or Meredith Batley (meredith@knoxclinic.org) at the Knox County Health Clinic.

Related stories:

• Rockland's Knox County Health Clinic: Changing health care one person at a time

• Knox County Health Clinic receives grant to expand access to quality care

Reach Chris Wolf at news@penbaypilot.com.