Community Health-In-Partnerships Services (CHIPS) is best known as CHIPS Health and Wellness Center, or CHIPS. It is a charitable health care organization, which has provided free medical and mental health care for adults and children since 1990.
The CHIPS health clinic in St. Louis has a similar acronym to the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), formerly known as the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP (The “S” was recently eliminated). That program was signed into law in 1997, and is funded jointly by the federal and state governments. It provides federal matching funds to states for health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, but who can’t afford private coverage. It is the state/federal CHIP program that depends on government budget allotments each year. Funding for the CHIP program was recently renewed after months of delay.
In St. Louis, the CHIPS Health and Wellness Center is not a government program and does not receive any federal or state funding for direct care to children. The mission of CHIPS is to provide health and wellness services to the uninsured and underserved people in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
CHIPS is supported by grants, contracts with various city and county agencies, private donations, and fundraisers. A team of volunteer doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses, and other committed healthcare providers remain the professional caregivers for those who would otherwise not receive the care they need for the health conditions that leave many uninsured persons living with diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health issues.
CHIPS expands its services with the Health Care Beyond Walls Program by offering comprehensive health screenings, health education, and referrals in a variety of selected sites, including libraries, beauty schools, churches, food pantries, senior citizens’ centers, and other sites, as requested. The CLUB CHIPS Teen Leadership Program also makes presentations in the area.
CHIPS has partnerships and collaborative relationships with UMSL and Goldfarb Schools of Nursing, St. Louis Housing Authority, Mercy Health Center, BJC Health System, St. Louis Public Schools, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and others.
Call CHIPS at (314) 652-9231, follow CHIPS on Facebook, or visit www.chipsstl.org.
Judy Bentley is the founder, president and CEO of the CHIPS Health and Wellness Center in St. Louis.
