Addressing Health Needs of Underserved Communities with Ronan Gannon

Liam Dempsey: Welcome to Start Local, where we talk with business owners, leaders of nonprofits, and other members of our community focused on doing business in and around Chester County, Pennsylvania. Each episode will provide insight into the local business scene, and tell you about opportunities to connect with and support businesses and nonprofits in your local area.

Joe Casabona: The Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce promotes trade, commerce, industry, and sustainable economic development while supporting a diverse and growing marketplace. The Chester is proud to partner with the Start Local podcast to raise the profile of businesses and nonprofits throughout Chester County. Learn more about the chamber at scccc.com.

Erik Gudmundson: Welcome to Start Local. I am Erik Gudmundson, and I’m here today with my co-host, Liam Dempsey. Liam, how are you this fine afternoon?

Liam Dempsey: I am feeling much better than I have in recent weeks. I am feeling just Jim Dandy. Thank you so much. Glad to be here.

Erik Gudmundson: That sounds downright exciting. And as we sail through July, we want to remind you that we are advancing plans for our next in-person networking event. We’re targeting a fall gathering for our start local community.

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Erik Gudmundson: Today, we’re joined in the recording studio by Ronan Gannon. Ronan is the Chief Executive Officer with LCH Health and Community Services. LCH Health and Community Services is based in Kennett Square on the southern side of Chester County. Welcome, Ronan.

Ronan Gannon: Thank you, Erick. Glad to be here.

Liam Dempsey: Oh, we’re delighted that you’re here, Ronan. Thanks for joining us.

Ronan Gannon: Oh, thank you, Liam.

Erik Gudmundson: Well, within the context of all the national debates, both political and philosophical over the last 2 decades about healthcare access, we wanna begin our conversation by taking a moment to read LCH’s mission. Your mission is, “to improve the health and well-being of people and communities by providing high-quality health care, resources, and social services”. That’s no easy feat. What is it that you do, and how do you begin?

Ronan Gannon: That’s a great question. Well, maybe I’ll start with where we did begin. We began, 51 years ago here in Kennett Square, in 1973 as a social justice organization for the migrant farm workers who came to work in the mushroom farms. And over time, we evolved into a medical organization. And I guess from a philosophical question since you asked, really our philosophy is all about equitable care, right? We wanna make sure that everyone has equitable access to the same healthcare as anyone else regardless of their ability to pay, and to get that same quality health care. So, you know, our vital work really expands access to health care services throughout Southern Chester County by increasing equitable access to health care, and strengthening the well-being of children and families. We do integrate behavioral health or mental health into primary care and I think that’s something that’s a little unique about us. And we’re also really all about growing the healthcare workforce.

So these are some of the things we do and just to kind of answer your question politically, especially in these days, I’m happy to say that community health centers are supported by both aisles of Congress. So we have Republican and Democratic support for the work we do. And, you know, I think we’re very fortunate for that.

Liam Dempsey: You touched on behavioral health, and I’m delighted to hear about that. And I will come back to that because I think that’s such an important topic.

Ronan Gannon: Yeah.

Liam Dempsey: But for now, if you’re alright with that, I wanna talk about your values, LCH’s values. I was reading on your website in advance of this conversation that your values include being patient-centered and community-focused. How do you define the communities that LCH serves?

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. Well, we define the communities that we serve by really, starting with the underserved population. And that’s really our, sine qua non for no other better term. We are here as a safety net organization for those who need health care and can’t get it in other ways. But I do wanna stress that also we are a full primary care organization. So we’re really here for the entire community. We not only accept patients who are self-pay, but we also accept them, if they have medicaid medicare, or commercial insurance and we have some of all of those in our patient base. 

And the way we look at our determination is that our geographic area that we cover, is we do a needs assessment every 3 years. And that needs assessment establishes us as the primary care safety net provider for Southern Chester County. So we have to continually show and demonstrate that there is a need for us in order to continue our services. And I think I’m all for that because I think that keeps us on our toes, and it also allows us to make sure that we are really taking care of a community that needs it.

Liam Dempsey: So let me ask about that needs assessment that caught my attention. Is that something that LCH needs to do just to make sure that it’s running as smoothly and efficiently and effectively as possible? Or is that perhaps driven by funding agencies, funding partners? Tell me about that.

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. it’s driven by funding partners. Those that support the mission of LCH wanna make sure that there’s a real need in the community. And, that is a requirement from some of our larger funders to do on a periodic basis. And that’s what we do, to make sure that we can demonstrate a need for the services that we render.

Erik Gudmundson: I wanna go back to your answer there as well, because when I think about when your organization was founded in 1973, it was originally known as La Cimidad Hispana. And now you’re a federally qualified health center, since 2012. So I’d like to know, you know, why did you change your name as your mission has evolved over the years? And what does that federally qualified health center status mean for your patients?

Ronan Gannon: Sure. Well maybe I’ll start, Erik, with why we changed our name. So, I guess the crux of it is that as a community health center, we’re here to take care of the entire community. And what we were hearing is that some people didn’t think LCH was for them. They thought it was for a specific type of patient. And in essence, we were sending a message that we didn’t intend to send. And so we wanted to make sure that we were certainly here for our core audience, but we didn’t wanna send an unintended message. And so we moved away from La Cunidad Hispana, about 3 years ago. We didn’t wanna move too far away. So we kept the letters LCH but added health and community services so that our core audience still knew who we were because we are a trusted source for healthcare in the Latino community. But we also wanted to be welcoming to those within our service area who may not be Latino and may think, well, I don’t think they’re there for me. So that was the primary reason. 

The federally qualified health center is an interesting and a very important funder for us. So, to become a federally qualified health center, you have to cross a threshold of requirements that are very stringent. So for example, LCH, health and community services, publishes all its data transparently to the public every year. So you can see our quality data. You can see our financial data, you can see our operational data. Everything is transparent. And that’s part of the requirements to be a federally qualified health center. 

In addition, there are certain compliance regulations that we need to adhere to. And those are part of the funding that we get from the federally qualified health center movement. And finally, we are asked to make sure that our governing board is made up of 51% of patients. So it is truly a patient-centered and governed nonprofit business. 

Liam Dempsey: Seems like you’re regularly making a concerted effort to expand care both in terms of the type of care that you provide and the geographic region where you deliver that care. You opened a satellite location in Oxford, a dental office, a women’s health center, a pediatrics unit, and most recently, a center for behavioral health back in 2013. It’s exciting to talk with a nonprofit organization that isn’t afraid to try new things. It seems like you move faster than some tech companies. How do you determine where to go and what to try next?

Ronan Gannon: Well, we certainly don’t feel like we move faster than tech companies, but, we really base, our movements on need. So going back to the needs assessment, Liam, that we talked about initially, that really is our, source for where the community’s heading. What are the certain medical needs, that or or community services that they need? So, for example, when we opened our dental site, when we opened our women’s health site, we looked at our electronic health record to determine where are we referring patients out to that we could probably offer this service to within a sliding fee scale. So we do slide our fees based on income and population size. And that’s really the source of where we go. We do have a very interesting model, I think, from primary care in that we integrate traditional primary care with behavioral health, with oral care, and with women’s health and pediatrics. So we try to be a one-stop shop so that if you come to LCH, you can take advantage of all of our services at reduced rates. But it all starts with looking at our electronic health record, which is population health that lets us look at our patients longitudinally and then determine where are we sending people out so that we can really care for them ourselves.

And I’m happy to say that we’re gonna be adding 2 new services this year, an in-house pharmacy, and an owned pharmacy by LCH so that our patients can get their prescriptions as they leave the office. And also chiropractic services as well. We have a lot of patients who have musculoskeletal issues, and we believe that a chiropractic service can really help them achieve better tone and better relief of pain.

Liam Dempsey: That’s fantastic. And I should correct myself. Your center for behavioral health did not open over a decade ago and opened in 2023. As we spoke earlier, I said 2013. One quick follow-up question. Are all of the the folks that work in the many different care centers that you have, are they direct employees or are you contracting with a chiropractor or with a dental practice or something like that?

Ronan Gannon: That’s a great question, and I get that asked that a lot. They’re all direct employees with the exception of a chiropractor. We are contracting with a chiropractor, but everyone else is a direct employee.

And Liam, if I could go back just to talk about the PA Center for a second because it is a wonderful, wonderful service that we offer. And, a big thanks goes out to the go out to the PIA family and the PIA Foundation. We opened the PA Center For Behavioral Health, as you said, in 2023 last year, really to provide a central location for our patients’ well-being. And we wanted to have a very welcoming environment where people could come in and feel like they were really in a behavioral health environment. Not in an exam room with a, you know, equipment hanger, very comfortable chairs, and areas to sit down and really talk about some of the issues that people are facing. So we’re really proud of the PA Center and it’s doing fantastically right now.

Erik Gudmundson: So just like tech companies, when you try that many new things, some initiatives fail. Big Tex’s mantra is to fail fast and learn quickly from mistakes. How do you make the difficult decision to stop a new initiative that isn’t going the way you planned?

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. And I think that’s a big thing in the clinics here as well. You know, we can’t turn on a dime as quickly as the tech companies can. We try to think about moving past failures quickly. And I think that’s a newer mindset in the clinical arena than it is in tech. But I believe it’s the right mindset to have. You know, in a nonprofit, it’s really all about mission. And sometimes people get really connected to the mission, and it’s very, very, very hard to move away from something that isn’t working.

And we try to make it all about the fact that it wasn’t a bad idea, it wasn’t the bad decision to go that way. You’ve gotta keep trying new things. The community needs are evolving. We’re evolving our programs to meet those needs. Not every program’s gonna hit that mark and it’s okay if it doesn’t keep trying, let’s move on to different areas. And that’s kind of the mindset that we try to, that we try to put forward, but we do have a lot of perfectionists here. So, it’s a constant, uphill battle trying to get them there.

Erik Gudmundson: Well, I think, you know, you’re you’re surrounded by people that care within your organization. And so, you know, I’m sure they take it very personally when one of those things fail, but reality is you you learn from those mistakes. And if you’re not continually trying new things, you’re not serving the population as well as you could. So it’s it’s great that you’re doing it.

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.

Liam Dempsey: Ronan, I feel like we could probably spend all afternoon talking about the good things that LCH is doing and its plans for the future and we’ll get to more of that in a second. But I want to pivot just a little bit and talk about you. Your career has, not always been in nonprofits. Can you tell us about local bit about your career and how you landed with LCH?

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. Well, I mean, I just have to start by saying that, you know, LCH is near and dear to my heart. And this job has been certainly a job of of passion. And basically, it’s a job that I say that I get to do, not that I have to do. And so, I’ve been associated with LCH now, believe it or not, for 10 years in different ways. So, been in this role for the last 3 starting on my 4th. But most of my career has been in the life sciences area. And I’ve spent a lot of my time initially in primary care and hypertension, in gastro issues and also in infectious diseases.

I moved into vaccines and spent a good part of my career in vaccines. And, you know, the vaccines marketplace is really a marketplace about helping people. So I spent most of my time in pediatric vaccines and, on the development and commercialization side before moving into rare diseases. And, you know, I think rare diseases really helped me think about communities as opposed to the broad, you know, huge marketplace and allowed me to focus on, you know, what is the community we’re trying to serve? Let’s get to know their needs as much as possible. Let’s try to design solutions to meet their problems. And that’s how I eventually ended up moving into the nonprofit as a volunteer at first, and now, in the role that I’m in. So, LCH kinda was a blend of my background in healthcare, my interest in nonprofits, and my and my love of LCH, and the fact that I live in the community as well. So, you know, it’s they, you know, they know where I live. Let’s put it that way.

Erik Gudmundson: I’m relieved that you’re so passionate about your role there at LCH because of all the good things the organization does. But considering how long you spent working for-profit health companies in your career, tell us the hardest part about professionally transitioning to a nonprofit organization.

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. That’s a good question. And I’ve thought about that a lot, and at times really wrestled with it. But I think the hardest thing is realizing why business thinking is not the answer. You can’t operate a nonprofit like a business. And when you come from the business sphere, you know, automatically you immediately rush to the finances. Let’s take a look at the finances. Let’s see how the organization is set up, and where are the problems. And it’s often because you’re trying to assimilate so much so quickly that finances offer a structured approach at looking at the organization and determining, okay, what needs to get worked on first? 

But in reality, you know, LCH is a mission-oriented organization and the mission is the most important thing. Now the old saying no margin, no mission is absolutely true. But it is that the mission is really the end goal. and, you know, the money are inputs towards those outputs.

And so I think when you start to make that transition and start to think about mission first, and then you start to think about, well, what is it we do? And we’re a service organization, so it’s all about our people. And, how much time do you spend with your people? How do you help them grow? How do you help them feel psychologically safe when they make mistakes? And how do you help them work together? We have so many different functions within LCH from clinical, medical, nursing, MAs, front desk, finance, quality, that, you know, there’s there you’re really the only person who knows how every one of these functions works. And really the goal is to try to get them to work together. 

So I think it’s really not bringing your business ideas and just dumping them right into, the nonprofit setting, but thinking rather about because there’s a lot of businesses that aren’t good businesses. Right? And so it’s not business so much. I think it’s more discipline, disciplined thinking, disciplined people, and really focusing on the mission.

Liam Dempsey: I wanna go back to what we touched on earlier about the composition of the board of LCH. I was skimming again through your website in advance of this conversation and you have different races, different genders, different ethnic backgrounds, professions, and company sizes represented on your board. And it’s not a small board. It’s not a huge board, but it’s not a tiny board. You’ve got executives, scientists, a cake shop owner, a driver, of course, medical professionals, medical professionals, and your chair is a litigator, a courtroom litigator. 

As a CEO, I suppose that you report to the board. What is it like reporting to a board with so many different perspectives with so much such a diverse backgrounds? How is that, to try to steer the ship when your board is might be focused on delivering value, but they’re coming at it from a lot of different angles? Talk to us about that.

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. It’s wonderful. It’s wonderful. I mean, and it is the beauty and the essence of the health center movement. We are required to have a very diverse board that 51% have to be patients. And so, they keep me accountable to the patients, while others keep me accountable to staying up to date on tech or in compliance with the rules or keeping our eye on quality. It’s really wonderful. And I just had my performance appraisal from all of them last week.

So, it was, a great experience to listen to all their perspectives, to understand the passion that they have for our community and for LCH. And, you know, I think when it comes to the different perspectives, you know, and I should probably tell you, Liam, we meet 12 times a year. So we have 12 board meetings a year, every month. And that is one of the requirements because I think that is good fiduciary responsibility of overlooking and making sure that things are working well. And our board does. They’re they’re fantastic. 

So really, you know, when I look at what their role is, you know, they help with strategic planning. They help with making sure we stay on mission. They help with financial sustainability, and they help with the things that I mentioned earlier. So it’s really, to me, I report to them, but it is a collaboration in all aspects.

Liam Dempsey: Yeah. It sounds like it is from the tone of your voice. I just wanna go back because you talked about how you’re required to have 51% of your board be patient. And you talked about the guidelines for diversification of your board. Is that coming from your status as a federally qualified health center? Is that part of that, or is that just your…

Ronan Gannon: Yes. It is.

Liam Dempsey: Okay. So, it’s rules and structures that really help you embrace the quality of work that you’re trying to achieve.

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. And they really make sense. I mean, you know, as you mentioned earlier, I come from the business sphere, and I’m as much a business person as anyone else. And so, I appreciate the fact that someone is looking over the shop on a continual basis. There are a lot of great, now the federally qualified health center does not mean that we are a federal organization. We are not. We’re a nonprofit corporation in Pennsylvania. So I always tell my team that nonprofit is a tax status, not a business model. Right? So we have to make sure that we can remain sustainable. But, we do a lot to hire in our, in this county. We make sure that we hire people from the community. We save the community a lot of money in terms of helping people stay away from the ED when they don’t need to go to the emergency department. We are transparent and fiscally sound. And so. I think there’s a lot of things that from an FQHC that not only the model, but it’s the fact that we do offer a sliding scale that drops the price depending on your income and family size. These are all good principles that are, you know, sound in medicine, sound in community engagement, and also sound fiscally.

Erik Gudmundson: As you talk about the different people in your organization, is LCH hiring right now?

Ronan Gannon: Yeah, we are actually. So, there is a national shortage of providers, you know, be they doctor, family practice doctors, nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants. And so we are always looking for really good people. Our current slate of providers are top notch. But there’s more need than we can serve right now. So we are looking to for certified nurse practitioners, physician’s assistants, and family practice doctors, and also pediatricians.

Liam Dempsey: And if folks were interested in in in looking at those job descriptions, it’s like, presumably there’s a career page over on LCH website.

Ronan Gannon: There is. They could just go right on to [lchcommunityhealth.org]. 

Liam Dempsey: Perfect. 

Ronan Gannon: And there’s a career page right on there that they can look for all those. So, we’re looking to,make sure that we can handle all the demand that we have and make sure that we have access for people who can come in to see us when they need to.

Liam Dempsey: Excellent. And we’ll be sure to include a link to that over on the show notes at [starlocal.co].

Erik Gudmundson: And we’ve heard about so many different initiatives that you’ve recently implemented and ones that you have planned to implement very, very soon or in process of implementing, I should say. But if you had a magic wand that could enable LCH to do anything, what health or community service initiative would you tackle first? And maybe it’s as simple as, you know, give you more providers, if it’s a software proposition.

Ronan Gannon: I think you read my mind, Erik. Yeah. Yeah. So, I would magically produce more providers. That’s what I would’ve done. I’d wave my wand and say, give me 2 pediatricians, 1 family practice doctor. But, but seriously, I think, you know, we really need to be is in the community. And so the reason I say I would magically, you know, swing my wand around for more providers is that I would like to see ourselves where the patients are in senior centers, on farms, in schools, and homes. And and I think that it’s not just the primary care, it’s also the behavioral health. There’s such a need out there. So it’s not just looking for the providers, but it’s also looking for the licensed clinical social workers who do such a phenomenal job on the front lines dealing with this horrible epidemic we have with mental health today.

Liam Dempsey: Ronan, you and your colleagues at LCH are doing a lot to support the community, particularly those who don’t have access to other health care options. And that’s fantastic. But how can the community around you support LCH and the work that you’re trying to achieve?

Ronan Gannon: Wow. That’s a great question. I mean, there are many in the community today who do help LCH. And I wanna reach out and just thank them if they’re listening first.

So, we have unbelievable supporters from volunteers, as board members, committee members. We have finance committee equality, a health care quality committee, a governance committee a risk management committee. And we have just sent some wonderful people from the community who donate their time to do that. Others offer us legal services. So I want to thank them but, I think one way you can help is really to commit to promote LCH as a community health center for everyone. We really are here for everyone. We are not here for 1 demographic or for one ethnicity. We’re here for everyone.

And, you know, log on onto our website and learn more. Sign up for our community newsletter. It’s a good great way to stay in the know. And, you know, I wouldn’t be doing my job as CEO if I didn’t also say that we rely on donations. So please donate to help support our mission. But those are the various ways that you can you can help LCH.

Erik Gudmundson: So LCH is clearly focused on meeting a lot of what I would call new definition of health care or modern definition of health care needs of of the community. What would you say are 1 or 2 of the the biggest needs of the community in general, maybe outside the scope of of health care?

Ronan Gannon: Okay. Outside of the scope of health care. So I’d say with, it depends, but with our core audience today, the biggest issues are transportation and affordable housing. And so, you know, these are intractable issues in Southern Chester County. It’s a big county. It’s across all of Chester County, I think. You know, as we as we build communities that thrive, prices go up, it’s harder for affordable healthcare. So there’s good things and then some untoward, things that happen.

And transportation’s always a big issue. I mean, we offer Uber Health support for those who don’t have transportation who need to come in for an appointment. But those probably are the 2 biggest areas that I hear back. You know, if I had to pick a third, it’s probably food insecurity. So those that’s another big issue. But those are the core concerns I hear beyond healthcare.

Erik Gudmundson: And I know we’ve definitely had some of those concerns discussed on past episodes, where we had the president of TMAC on to talk about transportation issues. We had Andrew Yaron from the Chester County Food Bank to talk about food insecurity. And a lot of people assume that because Chester County is such a wealthy county, we don’t have these issues.

but transportation and health care and and food insecurity are are certainly important topics worth talking about. So, I’m glad you mentioned them, and it it certainly shows you’re very much in touch with your clients and the community in general. I’m gonna ask you a tough question now, and that is, could you give us the name of a nonprofit organization or or even a nonprofit business that deserves more spotlight in the community?

Ronan Gannon: Well, maybe maybe I’ll give you both. So from a nonprofit, I think, Mighty Writers in Tuff Kenneman, is a great nonprofit. And Mighty Writers is an educational organization, mostly for Latinos children in the community that has Programs in between school. It’s got some, food, insecurity solutions and it’s run by a wonderful team of people over there that are really deserve a spotlight and, more people should know what they do. 

And then, you know, for profit, look. There’s a lot of great for profits in this area. I don’t know where to start, but I when I think of Constellation as one of the larger, for profit organizations in our area. I think they do a great job of being out in the community and trying to support the community. 

So I those would be the the 2 that come to mind, but there are so many.

Liam Dempsey: Ronan, I’m gonna take our conversation in a slightly different angle again, slightly different, avenue if I can. 

You sit on the board of directors of the Southern Chester County Chamber of Commerce. And this podcast, Start Local Podcast, is an active member of that very chamber. In fact, we’re partnering with the chester to raise the profile of businesses and nonprofits throughout Chester County. That public disclaimer said, let’s spend a few moments talking about the sort of value a nonprofit can realize through membership of a Chester of Commerce. Why do you as the CEO of LCH spend valuable time or money on such a membership?

Ronan Gannon: Yeah. That’s a great question. And, do you know, I can say for me, when I first came to LCH, you know, one of the things when I was looking at our community outreach, I asked was, are we a member of the chamber? And because if we weren’t, I was gonna say, well, we’re gonna be a member of the chamber. Locally, we all we were a member of the chester, and I think chambers of commerce are incredibly important for communities like ours.

If you think about all the issues that small businesses have, and I count myself as a small business person, those issues seem intractable when you take them on from your perspective. Okay. Well, I don’t have a ton of opportunity. I don’t, I may not have anyone to bounce the ideas off of who do I go to when I have an issue? Well, that’s the chamber, the Chamber of Commerce. They are there for that reason. They will help you market your product. They will help you get the word about out about your services. When you have believe me, when you have an issue that is legislative in nature that may be hurting your business, they’re the people you wanna go to because they have the contacts that can really get that conversation started to really turn things in the right direction.

So, on the surface, it may seem like well, why should I do that? But when you start to peel back the onion and start to think about, well, okay, where do I need, where am I not strong, but I need strength? Well, that’s your chamber. And there are just a ton of different, really experienced people who can come in and and help you with your problems. And also, there are a lot of great people who also can, you know, use your services, use your products, and help you sell more of your your products and services. So, it’s always been a no brainer for me, Liam, and that’s why I do it.

Liam Dempsey: That’s a great answer. Thanks for sharing that with us. Sure. Ronan Gannon, Chief Executive Officer of LCH and County Services, where can listeners connect with you and learn more about the great work that you and your colleagues are doing at LCH?

Ronan Gannon: So we are on Facebook. We are on Instagram. We’re on LinkedIn. Our website again is, [lchcommunityhealth.org], and we’re on YouTube with lots of videos. So, if you’re so inclined, sign up for  our monthly good new letter. You’ll get all the, all the news about LCH.

Erik Gudmundson: I really appreciate you coming on today, Ronan, and, thank you for sharing all your wisdom today. I would point out that, if anybody wants to follow-up on the sustainable transportation discussion, Tim Phelps with TMAC is episode 44. Andrea Yount on on food and security from the Chester County Food Bank is on episode 32. And check out our website, [startlocal.co] for show links, that will contain more helpful information from this very episode.

Liam Dempsey: Ronan, thanks again for joining us today.

Ronan Gannon: Oh, my pleasure. Thank you, Liam. Thank you very much, Eric.

Liam Dempsey: And thanks to you folks for listening. We value your time and your attention to our podcast. We really appreciate you being a part of our community. As a reminder, head on over to our website, [startlocal.co]. You can get show notes, and you can subscribe for updates. 

We will have more information about our upcoming in person networking event. We publish every fortnight, and you can catch our show wherever good podcasts are available. 

Thanks again for listening and until the next time. Bye for now.