Who needs TLC? Babies do, of course! But tender loving, care is something babies never outgrow. The truth is, each and every one of us — children, teenagers, adults and especially senior citizens, require TLC throughout our lives. We deserve quality health and wellness attention from trusted providers who know us and our families’ needs.
On the Eastern Shore we’re fortunate to have a steady source of TLC in the form of Three Lower Counties Community Services Inc. (TLCCS), a nonprofit, federally qualified health center (FQHC) offering a wide range of patient-oriented care for residents throughout Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties.

CEO Joan Robbins has seen first-hand the strong, steady growth which has been a part of the organization’s story since its inception 15 years ago, as a direct result of finding a way to proactively respond to patient needs. In 1994, TLCCS was created as a non-profit community health center in Princess Anne, offering primary medical and dental care to tri-county patients who might otherwise be without access to it. Within a few months, TLCCS had already expanded to include mental health services. Within five years, the group’s first pediatric office opened in Salisbury. By 2000 the Princess Anne facility had doubled in size and patient capacity. Three years later, the Salisbury pediatric office also moved to a larger office and expanded to provide internal medicine and OB/GYN care. Over the last year TLCCS saw patient population rise over 27,000 and visits exceeded 107,000.

Starting with 26 employees, the organization now has over 200, as well as a growing number of respected community caregivers choosing to join the TLCCS team. Among those joining most recently are adult medicine providers Drs. Ronald Travitz and Jane Crick; Dr. Mirza Baig and Juan Zelaya, PA; CRNP Chris Davis; pediatricians Dr. Stephen Cooper, Jerry Clayville, CRNP; along with dentists Hau Le, DMD, and Patrick Holmlund, DDS.

Robbins, along with Medical Director Dr. Daniel Eisemann, Nursing Director Sue Gray, and CFO Joe Marino, share the organization’s vision of putting patients first by creating an integrated, coordinated system of care providing continuity of coverage as seamlessly as possible.

Within an ever expanding family of services under its umbrella of expertise, TLCCS delivers treatment for OB/GYN patients, plus pediatrics, adult primary care, prescriptions, mental health and dental care. A founding member of the Maryland Community Health System, TLCCS works in concert with local schools, hospitals, and health departments to provide nutritional counseling and other health-related education.

General primary treatment for adults and children (pediatrics) includes ambulatory care, diagnostic tests, hospital admission arrangement, referrals, and sub-specialty consultations. TLCCS is one of the primary providers of dental care to Wicomico, Worcester and Somerset counties, and the only provider meeting the needs of the uninsured and medical assistance populations. Comprehensive services focus on prevention, restoration and emergency treatment with an oral surgeon. TLCCS also works within the communities to help maintain good dental health from the earliest ages, by offering Head Start and migrant school screenings, and a school-based sealant program.

The group’s mental health services include providing school and family-based treatment with an inclusive range of care covering initial evaluations, individual psychotherapy, counseling for couples, families, or groups, and treatment with psychiatric medication. TLCCS also provides a court-mandated group for divorcing couples and parenting classes. In early January TLCCS welcomed the addition of Dr. Venkatesh Handratta to help support Dr. Joseph Doumit to satisfy patient demand.

In the area of Obstetrics and Gynecology, TLCCS not only offers the finest in professional care by private physicians, the group has also been a pioneering leader in the effort to reduce local infant mortality rates by ensuring the availability of prenatal care to those facing financial and other barriers to receiving that care. TLCCS pays for uninsured patients to receive prenatal visits, sonograms, lab work and prescriptions, including prenatal vitamins. From its early days, TLCCS participated in the Tri County Perinatal Council, a network of the area’s three health departments, the March of Dimes, Peninsula Regional Medical Center, OB/GYN Department, along with TLCCS, which took charge of running Baby Net programs from 1998-2003.

TLCCS provides Case Management and Outreach services as a crucial component in its effort to provide across-the-board assistance to patients who could greatly benefit from significant additional support to not only access but sustain health care and related services. Case managers/outreach workers serve as a bridge between patients, providers and community organizations. They target the many wide-ranging pitfalls which can endanger the process of medical compliance, including insurance and pharmacy coverage, income, job training, housing, transportation, legal issues and emergency financial, food and medical needs.

In recent years, TLCCS has played an active role in providing greater pharmaceutical access to affordable medications. Since June 2006, TLCCS joined with Delmarva Pharmacy in offering prescriptions at a government regulated reduced cost. Since 2007, TLCCS has had their own “open to public” retail pharmacy (TLC Pharmacy) at its Princess Anne location offering the same prescription savings like the Salisbury location.

Shawn Eisemann, who opened Delmarva Pharmacy with his wife Krista three years ago, values TLCCS as a partner in going the extra mile to help those facing a variety of roadblocks get the medications they need. He proudly points to the organization’s free delivery service “anywhere from Delaware to Ocean City to Pocomoke.” Delivery driver Danny Travers travels on a daily basis to bring vital prescriptions to communities like Bishopville, Willards, Selbyville and Tyaskin, helping those who either can’t travel due to illness or the cost of gas, as well as assisted living residents unable to journey out in bad weather. Richard Mendoza is another valuable resource that helps TLCCS clients reach their doctor appointments, and lends his Spanish language skills wherever needed. (Translators are available at each TLCCS site as needed, and prescription labels can be printed in Spanish.)

In addition to these many services, TLCCS continues to provide a safety net of health care coverage for the area’s growing seasonal and migrant worker populations. However, as Shawn Eisemann points out, TLCCS is set up to serve everyone in the three lower counties who believe in affordable, comprehensive, quality health care coverage for themselves and their loved ones.

Even greater changes loom on the horizon at TLCCS, with plans in the works for larger, more centralized facilities in each county.

To learn more about Three Lower Counties Community Services Inc., visit the group’s Web site at www.tlccs.org. In Princess Anne, call 410-651-1000 or 410-651-5151. In Salisbury, call 410-219-1100, 410-749-2922 or 410-546-2424. In Pocomoke, call 410-957-1852. Contact the TLC Pharmacy in Princess Anne at 410-651-5555 or Delmarva Pharmacy in Salisbury at 410-677-0561.