By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Horizons Mental Health Center wants to serve the public, even if your financial situation has changed as a result of COVID-19.
"We are a safety net clinic," said CEO Mike Garrett. "We see everybody, regardless of their ability to pay. If they've had a change in their financial situation, if they don't have insurance, if they don't have resources, we place them on a sliding fee scale based upon household income and the number of dependents."
If, after being put on the scale, you still feel you can't afford care, there is more they can do.
"We have a process to be able to review everything and reduce that fee even further if we need to," Garrett said. "I don't want anybody to have money stand in the way of them getting the services that they need."
Current patients have required creativity to stay connected.
"Our preference would be to do that over televideo," Garrett said. "You do get that feeling of face to face with them. If not, we want to be able to do that through telephone contact."
The center is even able, on a limited basis, to do curbside visits with social distancing, as long as the patient understands that they are relinquishing some of the privacy of that discussion to do that. Horizons makes that clear before scheduling such a meeting.