AtlantiCare and representatives of UNITE HERE Local 54 recognized former Senator William L. Gormley in a ceremony Thursday at the AtlantiCare HealthPlex in Atlantic City, New Jersey marking the renaming of the facility in his honor. They applauded Gormley’s contributions to the health and wellbeing of those who live and work in the region, including his instrumental support of AtlantiCare’s Special Care Center (SCC).

AtlantiCare and the UNITE HERE Local 54 Health Plan collaborated to design a primary healthcare service for Local 54 participants who have complicated and/or chronic medical conditions. New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior Services Heather Howard and other officials spoke of how the UNITE HERE Local 54 Health Fund participants are improving their health as a result of the SCC collaboration.

At the SCC, located in the William L. Gormley AtlantiCare HealthPlex in Atlantic City, Local 54 Fund participants are at the center of a highly specialized care team that coordinates and manages their care. Many have stopped smoking and are better managing diabetes, heart failure and other chronic conditions through their use of the SCC. A one-stop location for appointments, prescriptions, and more, it’s a convenient and efficient approach to health management that meets the needs for primary healthcare for patients with complex chronic illness. Since the program began in July of 2007 more than 500 Local 54 participants ranging in age from the early 30s to late 70s have joined. Most are between the ages of 50 and 65.

The SCC care team includes physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, health coaches and clerical and administrative staff. This team partners with Local 54 participants to personalize their care, manage chronic health conditions and eliminate unnecessary Emergency Department visits. AtlantiCare incorporates behavioral health care into the medical care setting in order to provide easy access and a team approach to addressing stress and other barriers that can affect chronic conditions. Family support systems are also available for those who have a complex medical condition.

“We are excited about the opportunity the SCC offers our participants who need extra attention to get their needs met,” said John Wilhelm, chairman, HEREIU Welfare Fund. “We appreciate AtlantiCare’s commitment to it, and we’re very grateful for Senator Gormley’s role in getting it off the ground.”

Gormley said the AtlantiCare SCC partnership “is a model that the rest of the country can say, ‘Those people in Atlantic City did it right. The union did it right, government did it right.’ What happens in this building not only turns health care costs around, it turns lives around.” Gormley called the physicians and other health care professionals who provide care and support to participants "the real heroes."

The benefits to Local 54 participants include:

• Less out-of-pocket healthcare-related costs
• A personal health coach guides and supports members in making lifestyle changes
• Physician co-pays are waived
• All prescription co-pays are waived when members use the SCC on-site pharmacy
• Access to care team 24 hours a day, seven days a week

AtlantiCare’s SCC outperforms the national average in successful treatment of most chronic disease indicators, including diabetes, hypertension management and smoking cessation. Twenty percent of the first 100 Local 54 members who enrolled have quit smoking.

“The partnership between AtlantiCare and Local 54 demonstrates that the health care system can work smarter and more efficiently for the benefit of those with chronic health conditions,” said Health and Senior Services Commissioner Heather Howard. “Atlantic City’s hospitality industry workers have improved access to health care and, most importantly, they learn how to manage their own health care better.”

“Enhancing access to care – especially primary care, is one way AtlantiCare enhances the health and wellbeing of our community,” said Margaret Belfield, vice president and administrator, AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC) City Campus, Atlantic City. “That means making care available when and where it’s most convenient. We’re pleased the Local 54 Health Plan partnered with us in our Special Care Center initiative.”

Gormley supported and was instrumental in AtlantiCare initiatives aimed at enhancing access to care and creating a healthier community. These included the $35 million expansion of ARMC Mainland Campus in Pomona, which opened in 2005 and the $128 million expansion of ARMC City Campus in Atlantic City – the George F. Lynn Harmony Pavilion, which opened in 2007. He played a key role in assisting with the sale of ARMC’s parking garage to Caesars Entertainment Corporation, the proceeds of which help fund the City Campus expansion. AtlantiCare representatives noted Gormley’s dedication to finding solutions to issues affecting the region, state and nation, including rising medical malpractice costs and the nursing shortage. The AtlantiCare Foundation awarded Gormley its 2005 Edward R. Knight Award for Community Service.

“It is fitting that we are celebrating in the building that now bears his name—The William L. Gormley AtlantiCare HealthPlex,” said David P. Tilton, president and CEO, AtlantiCare. “It is where so many of our residents receive the accessible care he championed. The AtlantiCare SCC is just one example of the projects for which Senator Gormley advocated and fought—and our region enjoys better healthcare as a result.”

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AtlantiCare is a regional healthcare organization based in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, whose more than 4,740 employees serve the healthcare needs of the community at more than 60 locations. It includes AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center (ARMC), the AtlantiCare Foundation, AtlantiCare Health Plans, AtlantiCare Behavioral Health and AtlantiCare Health Services. ARMC became the 105th hospital in the nation to attain status as a Magnet™ designated hospital in March of 2004.

UNITE HERE Local 54 business representative says

AtlantiCare Special Care Center (SCC)

is making a healthier difference for him and others

Joe Hinchey, a business representative for UNITE HERE Local 54 says the AtlantiCare Special Care Center (SCC), has helped him lose weight, lower his high blood pressure and cholesterol and decrease his need for medication.

Hinchey, 57, of Brigantine, says he began attending the SCC in December primarily to help him with his goal of losing weight. “I was 273 pounds,” he explains. “I had a heart attack in 2004. I was petrified that I was not going to lose weight and that it was going to kill me – that I’d be dead at 60.”

Hinchey says though he resolved to lose weight, he initially resisted the help. “I blamed everybody else,” he says, adding he walked out of his first SCC visit because he didn’t want to face his health issues and wasn’t ready to address them. “Then my health coach, Maudis Parks, called me and asked me to come back. She said, ‘Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine.’ I’d never been to a doctor’s office where they called me and asked me to come back. Now I’m there regularly.”

Hinchey says he needs less medication after dramatically lowering his blood pressure and his cholesterol and that he’s lost 38 pounds. “I’m about half-way to where I need to be.”

One reason the SCC has helped him, says Hinchey, is the assistance and support Parks, his personal health coach, gives him. “She is very good at keeping me on target, setting little short-term goals and making the whole thing doable in smaller pieces,” he says. “She and the SCC are really a part of my life.” Hinchey says the SCC’s flexible hours are another reason he uses the SCC. “I like morning hours. The staff makes sure I have the earliest appointment available because they know that’s important to me.”

As a business representative, Hinchey meets with UNITE HERE Local 54 participants daily in two Atlantic City casinos. “Whenever I run into anybody and ask if they’re going to the SCC, their face beams immediately. Participants are better managing their medications and like being able to go to the doctor before their shift starts or other convenient times. It really is working. It’s effective.”

Hinchey compares the SCC to the neighborhood family doctor visits he made growing up in the Lawndale section of Philadelphia. “It’s an old-fashioned approach to medicine. They know who you are, why you’re there and what your conditions are.” He says he credits the collaboration of AtlantiCare, UNITE HERE Local 54 and former senator William Gormley with “finding an out-of-the-box solution” to addressing chronic conditions.

Hinchey says he’ll approach his 58th birthday in August much healthier than he was in August of 2007. In addition to the weight loss and lower cholesterol and blood pressure, Hinchey says the AtlantiCare SCC has impacted his overall wellbeing. “I’ve got my spirit back,” he says. “My family is very pleased.”