Board member profile: John Nusser, MD

Dr. John Nusser has been working to bring Project Access to the Portland-Vancouver area for the last five years. As clinic director of the federally qualified community health center in Vancouver, Washington, he found it heart wrenching to see uninsured patients who needed specialty care he couldn’t provide and they couldn’t afford. In 2004, he heard about the success of Project Access in Olympia, and thought it could be possible to bring it to Clark County. “While doctors quietly have offered charity care for years, Project Access offered charity care that was better coordinated and more equitably distributed throughout the medical community.”

Championing the Project Access model took time to allay the concerns of physicians and hospitals, and to establish Project Access Clark County at the Free Clinic. “The concept can be scary to some at first,” Dr. Nusser said, “but many communities in the US have implemented Project Access, with very satisfied volunteer physicians, hospitals, other health care providers, and patients. I felt lucky to work with a number of passionate physicians who were integral to bringing Project Access to Clark County.”

Project Access Clark County has been operational for 15 months. Dr. Nusser, now a faculty physician at Family Medicine of Southwest Washington, is “excited to see patients who might have fallen through the cracks now getting the care they need and deserve.”

Dr. Nusser’s vision extends beyond Clark County. “Project Access NOW is exciting because it takes healthcare coordination to a entirely new level,” he said. “Physicians, hospitals, safety net clinics, and health insurance companies are all working together toward a common goal.” In the first year, Project Access NOW and the local Project Access programs served more than 1,300 patients and coordinated more than $3 million dollars of donated services.

On Project Access NOW’s board of directors, Dr. Nusser works on the executive committee and the clinical capacity committees, serving as an evangelist for the model. “It’s wonderful to work with inspirational board members and staff who believe in our mission of efficiently coordinating charity care for those most in need.”

Concluding his thoughts, Dr. Nusser said, “As a physician, caring for patients is very satisfying. However, I’ve realized that for me, I also want to work to try to affect more systemic change, making healthcare more accessible to those who need it most. While Project Access is only one small band-aid for our broken healthcare system, it’s something I can do now to make a difference in people’s lives.”

(June 2009)