FARMINGTON — Franklin Memorial Hospital is hosting an open house to celebrate MaineHealth’s Access to Care program, which for 20 years has connected the most vulnerable populations to affordable health insurance and free and low-cost health care and medications. The event which is open to the public will be held Thursday, May 19, from 3-5 p.m. in the hospital’s Bass Room.

Locally, the Franklin Access to Care team includes Alison Ouellet, MedAccess prescription assistance case manager, and Meghan Plant, medical outreach case manager. Since 2017, the MedAccess program has enrolled 1,079 people, has assisted in completing 1,592 prescription assistance applications–saving patients $5.1 million in medication costs. The coverage team helped submit 1,096 Medicaid/Affordable Care Act applications and got seven local members health insurance through the ACA marketplace this last year.

“Access to Care has had a profound impact on the health of our community and reflects our vision of working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,” said Trampas Hutches, president of Franklin Community Health Network. “Alison and Meghan’s dedication to delivering compassionate assistance to those who are uninsured or underinsured has improved the lives of so many of our friends, neighbors and family members. Because of their work, our communities are a better, healthier place to live.”

A formal program will begin at 3:30 p.m. with remarks from Hutches and Tracy Harty, senior director at Healthy Community Coalition.

Both Alison and Meghan also work closely with staff from Healthy Community Coalition to support the food pantry program and connect community members to substance use and tobacco cessation assistance.

“Our programs have significantly evolved and expanded over 20 years to support individuals across our MaineHealth communities,” said Carol Zechman, MSW, LCSW, the senior director of Access to Care. “However, our focus has remained the same: identify and address the underlying web of social, physical and financial needs facing many of the individuals navigating our current health system.”