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Who We Are
The Benewah Medical and Wellness Center (BMC/WC) is located in Benewah County in the Panhandle
of Idaho on the Coeur d' Alene Indian Reservation. This county has the highest number of
minorities of any county in the State of Idaho. Poverty, unemployment, and Geographic isolation
initially characterized the service area. A third of the users were below 200% of the Federal poverty
guidelines. Clinic users are about 51% Indian and 49% non-Indian. Approximately 56% have no insurance
and the unemployment rate is typically the highest in the state and over double the national unemployment
rate. 12% of BMC patients are over age 65. There has been significant economic improvement
to the service area in the last 5 years, although conditions continue to exist that warrant continued
access for the underserved population. Many in the community continue to be underinsured or
have no insurance at all.
In 1990, the Health Board Authority and Tribal Council decided its new clinic would serve all
persons in the community regardless of their ability to pay. In 1994 BMC was finally able to provide
services to the medically underserved and indigent population. Funding from the Bureau of Primary
Health Care allowed the Tribe to establish the clinic as a Community Health Center. A sliding fee
scale now could be offered to the non-Indians in the local region.
The Benewah Medical Center opened in 1990 with 14 staff and 800 patients. It now employs 105 with an
annual budget in excess of 7 million. Currently 6,500 patients account for 26,000 visits each year.
BMC/WC has experienced a consistent growth pattern of both patient registration and service use.
During the past l0 years there has been an average increase of 60 new patients each month. This growth
was considerably larger than initial projections. Early on, this unprecedented growth required
planning a renovation and expansion to the new facility after only 12 months of operation.
The organization allows for the maximum flexibility of patient care activities while still promoting
coordination of services. Community Health staff interact with clients in the home or school settings
linking them with appropriate medical, mental health, nutrition, rehabilitation, and wellness programs.
One morning weekly is reserved for regularly scheduled meetings between departments to facilitate
communication. Barriers related to lack of time within a busy clinical schedule are reduced to
encourage interaction with team players of different departments and disciplines. Nearly all
directors and managers are themselves clinicians, thereby keeping in touch with grass-roots perspectives
on care so critical to the organization's success.
BMC/WC has also been creative in addressing the multi-cultural considerations of its diverse communities.
Clinic and Wellness Center employees are trained to know about Native Indian history, customs, and
specifically about the Coeur d' Alene Tribe. It is the practice within the Benewah Medical and Wellness
Center to create specific opportunities during staff meetings to learn about cultural beliefs and values and
how they may relate to illness. This organization recognizes the importance of Native Indian belief
systems and ceremonies and accommodates attendance at Tribal gatherings when appropriate.
BMC/WC policy promotes coordination of clinical staff and Native Indian healers. On occasion, contract
health funds are utilized to pay travel to a neighboring state to access a medicine woman or man.
A committee reviews this type of consultation in the same positive way that a referral is made to a
western medical or mental health provider.
Patient satisfaction surveys consistently show a satisfaction rate above 92%. Patients' use of our clinical
services has dramatically increased by 800% in the last ten years. Employee teams strive to perpetuate
regional support by constantly evaluating in-house services to ensure patient-responsive care and by
providing community-based services, i.e. school-linked health care, wellness fairs, satellite flu
clinics, home visits to the chronically ill, transportation for the elderly, nutrition education, and a
focus on diabetes and asthma. Formal quality improvement processes promote reviews of service
effectiveness and quality care delivery.
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