January 2023 Newsletter

Reflecting on the Past–Planning for the Future

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” —Jeremiah 29:11

2023 is here, and although I’ve been here for only a year, it’s clear to me that the Lord has very big plans for NeighborHealth and its patients this year. Yet, before we look ahead to the future, it’s important to reflect on all we’ve accomplished over the past twelve months.

Looking back, 2022 was a transformational year in so many ways. Not only did we deliver exceptional care to more than 7,000 of our community’s most underserved neighbors, we helped change many of those patients’ lives for good. From refugees to expectant mothers to children and adults of all ages and stages of life, NeighborHealth provided more than $1.1 million in unreimbursed care – all in support of our mission to serve Christ by loving our neighbors through excellent, compassionate, and accessible healthcare.

As we move through 2023, God has inspired us with BIG dreams of caring for more patients, expanding our teams, and enhancing the services we offer to our growing community. Here are just a few ways NeighborHealth will continue to deliver on its mission in the coming year.

Deliver exceptional care to more patients than ever before.

Our recently expanded clinic space is almost complete! Our prenatal teams will move in next month, and with our expanded capacity we aim to care for at least 8,000 unique patients in 2023 – many of whom have nowhere else to turn for the high-quality healthcare services NeighborHealth provides with dignity, compassion, and respect.

Expanding pediatric services.

One of our community’s greatest unmet needs is access to high-quality pediatric primary care for underserved children. In many cases, children without insurance aren’t receiving the care they need – or they’re only being treated when they’re acutely ill because they have no access to primary care. We believe these children deserve better, so NeighborHealth plans to add several new pediatric providers this year to meet this critical need. 

Increasing prenatal care and services.

Over the past year in Wake County, we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of providers who are welcoming uninsured prenatal patients – leaving many expectant mothers with very limited options for getting the care they need for themselves and their unborn children. With the addition of a new OB/GYN physician, a midwife, and a prenatal nurse practitioner, NeighborHealth plans to increase its prenatal capacity by 150-200% in the coming year.

Enhancing behavioral health services.

In the wake of COVID-19, the behavioral health needs of our community are greater than ever before. Many patients who need help managing depression, anxiety and other mental health needs are left with few options, or long waiting lists to see a licensed therapist or provider. This year, NeighborHealth plans to add two new behavioral health professionals – a licensed clinical social worker and a licensed marriage and family therapist. An expanded team means we’ll be able to support our established primary care patients with integrated behavioral health services right here in our office, eliminating multiple barriers to getting the care they need. 

Focusing on donor outreach. 

Wake County continues to grow by leaps and bounds, which means there’s no end in sight to the growing demand we’re seeing for the care and services NeighborHealth provides. To keep pace with this growth and to offset the increasing costs of unreimbursed care we provide, we need more community and philanthropic support than ever before. That’s why we’re recruiting several leadership and support professionals to help enhance our donor outreach and relations programs. This will allow NeighborHealth to engage with community and corporate partners to help us continue meeting the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors.  

Strengthening community relationships. 

NeighborHealth knows we can’t do all of this important work alone. As such, we’re committed to strengthening our relationships with local hospital partners such as UNC Rex and WakeMed, as well as the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and many other local organizations to identify ways to meet the growing healthcare needs of our community. By working together, we can help connect patients in need with the right care at the right time – eliminating costly medical bills for patients, and reducing strain on our community’s busy local hospitals and emergency departments.

As you can see, God has BIG plans for NeighborHealth in 2023 – and we are so fortunate to have an incredible team of community supporters behind us. We are grateful for each and every one of you, and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together in the coming year – on behalf of our wonderful patients and this great community.

Thank you for your continued partnership.
With gratitude,
Daniel Lipparelli
Chief Executive Officer

Enjoy this video that gives a glimpse of how NeighborHealth is serving our neighbors through excellent healthcare!

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Serving Christ by loving our neighbors through excellent, compassionate, and accessible health care.