Tag Archives: Exalta Health

Exalta Health president resigns, interim president comes from board of directors

3-bottom, Community Health, Health, Local Faces, Non-Profits,
Exalta Health provides health care to an underserved population at two clinics, one in the 2000 block of Division Avenue. (WKTV)

By WKTV Staff

ken@wktv.org

After less than three months on the job, the president of Exalta Health — a south Grand Rapids healthcare provider to persons regardless of their employment, health insurance and limited financial ability — has resigned and the organization will now be led by an interim president.

Exalta serves residents of both Wyoming and Kentwood.

Exalta Health announced early this month that former Byron Center School District superintendent Dan Takens, who took over as Exalta Health president in early February “decided last week that he needed to resign for personal reasons and the board reluctantly accepted that resignation.”

Ed Postma. (Exalta Health)

Takens replaced Bill Paxton, who had retired. Ed Postma, a member of the Exalta Health Board of Directors and a former chair of the board, will take over as interim president as the board enters a new search process, according to supplied material.

Postma worked at Amway for almost four decades in international contract compliance, risk management and international business development, and he is presently a consultant with Cross Creek Consulting.

“Even in the midst of COVID-19,” Postma said in supplied material, “when we have seen fewer patients in person, it has been clear to me and to many others how important Exalta Health is to a part of our population that is often ignored.

“Not just our medical and dental services, but our behavioral and spiritual care services have been a lifeline to many. People know we are here for them, and we plan for that message to continue to come through loud and clear in this time of transition too.”

According to supplied material, in 2019, Exalta Health served 1,099 medical patients, 1,210 dental patients and provided just over 9,000 total services. Staff at the facility includes a medical director, a dental director, social workers, a chaplain and a variety of administrative positions. It also relies on more than 100 medical, dental and other volunteers annually to provide its services.

About 17 percent of Exalta Health patients have insurance, of which most use Medicaid, meaning insurance is just 4.2 percent of its revenue. “The donor community, including businesses, individuals, churches and foundations, helps cover the gap between what services cost and what patients can pay,” according to the Exalta Health statement.

Exalta Heath is located at 2060 Division Ave S. For more information visit exaltahealth.org.

Exalta Health gains Kent County’s Women’s Health Network Contract

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Health, Local Business, Non-Profits,
Exalta Health provides health care to an underserved population at two clinics, one in the 2000 block of Division Avenue. (WKTV)

By WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org


A new contract between Exalta Health and the Kent County’s Women’s Health Network will benefit both Exalta Health and its patients. Exalta Health is located at 2060 Division Ave. S., Grand Rapids, but serves patients from Wyoming and Kentwood as well.


The Women’s Health Network program contracts with 30 medical sites in Kent, Muskegon, Barry and Ottawa counties to offer the Breast and Cervical Cancer Control and Navigation (BCCCN) program, according to supplied material. This is both a national and State of Michigan program that offers free mammograms, clinical breast exams, Pap smears and pelvic exams to women who qualify, as well as follow-up care, medical referrals and cancer treatment.


Through this new contract, which could be worth up to $20,000, Exalta Health becomes one of those 30 sites and those critical and often life-saving exams will be made available to its patients with the contract now covering the costs.


Exalta Health’s Andrea Cervantes said in supplied material that the organization has offered these tests in the past, but essentially took a loss on them. The new contract means Exalta Health will not only be able to provide the tests but also will break even in doing so. For a small nonprofit that depends on donations to fund its services, access to a fund is a big deal.


In addition, access to the funds means Exalta Health will be able to serve more of its patients who need these exams and will be able to work with its patients in a more direct and more proactive way to make sure critical exams and screenings aren’t being missed.


“We’re really grateful to the Kent County Women’s Health Network,” said Cervantes, a registered nurse. “This grant is going to allow us to serve our patients better and serve more of them. We see a lot of female patients at Exalta Health, so BCCCN is really important to them and to us.”

For more information visit exaltahealth.org or accesskent.com.

Exalta Health on mission to provide medical care to underserved community

3-bottom, City of Kentwood, City of Wyoming, Community Health, Health, Non-Profits

Exalta Health provides health care to an underserved population at two clinics, one in the 2000 block of Division Avenue. See close up of plaque below. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

K.D. Norris

ken@wktv.org

 

Exalta Health is a south Division Avenue based healthcare provider for low income residents of Wyoming, Kentwood and south Grand Rapids — serving patients who “have no place else to go,” the organization likes to say.

 

“There is a saying in health care that the best predictor of you heath is not your genetic code but you zip code,” President Bill Paxton said during a recent taping of WKTV Journal’s new “In Focus” public affairs program. “What we know is where people live is often reflective of their access to good health care services. It is really reflective of socio-economic status.

 

President Bill Paxton and Medical Director Laura Vander Molen of Exalta Health. (WKTV)

“What we are seeing is that people who have less income, less revenue, have poor health and poor access to health care — and that is across the country. Both in rural areas and in urban areas such as Wyoming and Kentwood and Grand Rapids. … What we see is that people with lower income often have other barriers to health care — cultural barriers, language barriers, transportation barriers.”

 

For a YouTube video of the complete “In Focus” segment, visit here.

 

Exalta works to break down those barriers to health care by providing “compassionate … quality … and accessible care” at its Clínica Centro, at 2060 Division Ave S, and its South Clinic at Streams of Hope, 280 60th Street SE.

 

We provide “mainly primary care, that’s medical care, trying to have patients have continuity care with the provider,” said Medical Director Dr. Laura Vander Molen. “We also have dental care — in the past we have separated dental care from medical care but now we are trying to see the patient as a whole person.”

 

Exalta has many care providers who either work or volunteer at their clinics, but it also works with community partners — including Spectrum Health, Mercy Health St. Mary’s, and Metro Health-University of Michigan Health — for speciality care services. But that sometimes leads to problems for patients.

 

“We work to get our patients in to see specialists if they need care beyond us,” Vander Molen said. “But when we send people out for speciality care, that tends to drive up the costs” and “becomes an insurance issue” for the patients.

 

“We (also) try to educate people on chronic diseases, so we do a class for people with diabetes. We also have behavioral health, which includes medical and social workers, and also counseling for our patients who may be struggling with behavioral health issues.”

 

Lastly, she said, there is spiritual support if needed and requested.

 

“We also have spiritual care. We feel that people are emotional, spiritual and physical, so we are trying to meet all those needs,” Vander Molen said.

 

Plaque at entrance to Exalta Health’s Division Avenue clinic and office. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)

While Exalta is proud that it is a religiously-motivated organization, Paxton makes clear they are more focused on serving the community than spreading the Gospel.

 

“We are a Christian organization, that is really our motivation for doing what we do,” Paxton said. But “overall, what we really want to see is a healthy community. Reflecting what we think the call is to us — as Christians, to do as Christ would do — to show compassion, and (provide) quality care. That is why we do what we do.”

 

For more information on Exalta Heath, call 616-475-8446 or visit exaltahealth.org.