GBMC Brings Its Quality Primary Care to Baltimore City

GBMC might be known around town as the hospital on the hill, but in the 2010s, GBMC expanded primary care to 10 locations across Baltimore and Harford Counties, continuing a legacy that began in 1965 of bringing quality and compassionate healthcare where there is a need. Today, GBMC has returned to its roots by bringing primary care to Baltimore City, to the site of what once housed the Presbyterian Eye, Ear & Throat Charity Hospital.

Located at 1017 E. Baltimore Street, GBMC Health Partners Primary Care—Jonestown originally began as a partnership with Helping Up Mission to treat its residents but quickly grew to providing advanced primary care to 400 residents of the Jonestown neighborhood, thanks in part to an endowment funded by the Presbyterian Board of Governors, one of GBMC's founders. With a capacity to treat eight times that number, the opportunity to serve the surrounding community is great.

According to GBMC Jonestown Practice Manager and Service Line Administrator for Primary Care, Ericka Easley, MHA, the current focus is to bring awareness to the community that GBMC is offering quality primary care in Jonestown and assure them GBMC is committed to meeting the unique needs of the Jonestown community.

Easley and the Gilchrist Outreach Committee hosted two listening sessions in fall 2021 with community partners to hear individual concerns directly. Easley said the takeaways were informative.

“Access was a big one because some people still use the Emergency Department (ED) for care,” Easley said. “It is important to understand the barriers as to why the community uses the ED for episodic care, and then explain to them how primary care works. Within our Advanced Primary Care offices, we have providers on call 24/7. For example, you can call your doctor at 3 a.m., and one of the providers from your office is available to talk to you or even schedule a video visit.

“We also asked them questions like, ‘How do you think healthcare should look?’ or ‘What are some of the barriers for you?’ The feedback will be put into a report for us and the community, so we get a better understanding of what is needed.”

One way GBMC Jonestown is addressing those needs is through partnerships with many community organizations. From assisting individuals with food access, movement, substance use disorder issues, or legal help, these partners have the trust of community members who rely on them for services and resources. They play a significant role in helping GBMC Jonestown establish trust with the community, and they reinforce the message GBMC is committed to meeting community needs.

“There is a lack of primary care within Baltimore City. GBMC recognizes the need, and we are here to work closely with our community partners as we build long-lasting relationships, not only with them, but everyone we connect with,” Easley said.

In bringing a full continuum of care to Jonestown, GBMC hopes to expand residents' access to primary care and take a proactive approach to chronic disease management. Expanding access and practicing preventive medicine with the goal of avoiding a health crisis will reduce people's healthcare costs and ED utilization.

This comprehensive and coordinated approach to care relies on trust and accountability. From the first visit, patients are supported with regular follow-ups, coordinated referrals to specialists if needed, and health coaching.

Recognizing barriers to healthy decision making do exist alongside social determinants of health —access to reasonably priced healthy food, poverty, mental health stressors, transportation barriers, etc.—the work alongside community partners is key to achieving the ultimate goal of empowering individuals in their own health.

“We do primary care so well and our metrics prove it,” Easley said. “We want to improve life expectancy, so why not bring our services within the great city of Baltimore? If we can prolong our patients' lives for another 20 years, that’s amazing. Hope is not lost, and situations can be turned around."