WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:02.436  (female announcer)    Production funding    for Behind the Headlines 00:02.436 --> 00:04.438  is made possible in part by.. 00:12.179 --> 00:14.181 -Tonight on Behind the Headlines, 00:14.181 --> 00:16.183 Dr. Scott Morris on Crosstown, wellness, 00:16.183 --> 00:18.185 and changes at the Church Health Center. 00:18.185 --> 00:23.190 [theme music] 00:35.068 --> 00:36.703 I'm Eric Barnes, publisher of The Memphis Daily News. 00:36.703 --> 00:38.238 Thanks for joining us. 00:38.238 --> 00:39.907 I am joined tonight by Dr. Scott Morris, 00:39.907 --> 00:42.976  CEO, founder of what's   now known as Church Health. 00:42.976 --> 00:44.978  We'll talk about   that a little more. 00:44.978 --> 00:45.979  Thanks for being here. 00:45.979 --> 00:46.980 - Glad to be here. 00:46.980 --> 00:48.982  (Eric)    And Toby Sells is a   reporter with The Memphis Flyer. 00:48.982 --> 00:49.983  Thanks for being here again. 00:49.983 --> 00:50.984 - Thank you, sir. 00:50.984 --> 00:51.985 Let's talk about that. 00:51.985 --> 00:53.987 I introduced it at the beginning of the show as Church Health 00:53.987 --> 00:55.989 Center because that's what people have known for what now? 00:55.989 --> 00:56.990 Almost 30 years. 00:56.990 --> 00:58.992 You're rebranding as you're moving into Crosstown. 00:58.992 --> 01:02.195 Talk about these changes because it's more than just a new logo, 01:02.195 --> 01:04.364 which it is, and a new name. 01:04.364 --> 01:06.366 But there's some amount of changing of focus. 01:06.366 --> 01:07.534 Talk about that. 01:07.534 --> 01:09.569 - Yeah, not really sure there's changing of focus. 01:09.569 --> 01:12.105 But we're no longer a center. 01:12.105 --> 01:16.510 Church Health is far more than just our little buildings on the 01:16.510 --> 01:18.512 corner of Peabody and Bellevue now. 01:18.512 --> 01:22.950 The move to Crosstown really gives us an opportunity to be 01:22.950 --> 01:26.019 engaged in a wider understanding of what health is all about. 01:26.019 --> 01:28.588 Health is not about the absence of disease. 01:28.588 --> 01:31.892 It's about helping people live a life well-lived. 01:31.892 --> 01:34.328 And that requires more than a doctor to be involved. 01:34.328 --> 01:36.663 - And so, you'll move when? 01:36.663 --> 01:37.664 - We're moving in February. 01:37.664 --> 01:38.832 I read it in the newspaper. 01:38.832 --> 01:39.833 [laughter] 01:39.833 --> 01:40.834 - Okay. 01:40.834 --> 01:41.935 And you're expanding. 01:41.935 --> 01:44.705 I mean, talk a little bit about how many people you serve now. 01:44.705 --> 01:47.607 Just give people who aren't familiar with what you do, 01:47.607 --> 01:49.843 let's get that out of the way so that they understand 01:49.843 --> 01:50.844 what you all do. 01:50.844 --> 01:52.846 And then you're really kind of expanding, 01:52.846 --> 01:54.848 I think, in a number of ways as you get over into Crosstown. 01:54.848 --> 01:55.983 But give some background. 01:55.983 --> 01:58.952 - So, our focus is to engage the faith community. 01:58.952 --> 02:01.755 We don't ever back away from that. 02:01.755 --> 02:05.359 The faith community's role to take care of people who stand 02:05.359 --> 02:06.560 in the gap. 02:06.560 --> 02:10.230 That has for 29 years been focused on people who work in 02:10.230 --> 02:12.332 low wage jobs and don't have health insurance. 02:12.332 --> 02:15.435 That continues to be an enormous need in this community. 02:15.435 --> 02:18.171 But it's not just the doctor. 02:18.171 --> 02:19.373 Dental care. 02:19.373 --> 02:22.109 In 2,500 pages of the Affordable Care Act, 02:22.109 --> 02:24.111 the words "adult dentistry" do not appear. 02:24.111 --> 02:25.112 It is not in there. 02:25.112 --> 02:29.750 Fixing people's teeth puts their smile back on their face. 02:29.750 --> 02:31.818 But it also allows them to get a better job. 02:31.818 --> 02:36.556 Eye care, counseling, substance abuse, 02:36.556 --> 02:39.926 and then the whole big array around wellness 02:39.926 --> 02:40.994 is basically nutrition. 02:40.994 --> 02:45.198 - There's a whole lot on all those that are tied to being 02:45.198 --> 02:46.199 in Crosstown. 02:46.199 --> 02:49.036 But before I get Toby in, about how many people a year 02:49.036 --> 02:51.038 do you serve? 02:51.038 --> 02:53.040 - A year is a complicated thing. 02:53.040 --> 02:55.976 In my mind and what I'm confident of, 02:55.976 --> 02:59.279 there's roughly 70,000 people in Memphis who depend 02:59.279 --> 03:01.281 on Church Health for their healthcare. 03:01.281 --> 03:02.449 - And about how many staff? 03:02.449 --> 03:04.451 And you have a lot of volunteers. 03:04.451 --> 03:06.453 Give or take how many people are involved. 03:06.453 --> 03:07.454 - We have 250 paid staff. 03:07.454 --> 03:10.524 We have 1,000 physicians who volunteer with us. 03:10.524 --> 03:15.595 It's truly an amazing thing that happens in Memphis every day. 03:15.595 --> 03:17.964 - You'll be moving from 13 different locations 03:17.964 --> 03:20.600 across the city, consolidating into one thing. 03:20.600 --> 03:23.470 I'm interested in that and the opportunities that affords you. 03:23.470 --> 03:29.276 But I guess what opportunities will that allow you to do to 03:29.276 --> 03:31.945 grow, to do new things, to focus on more things? 03:31.945 --> 03:32.946 What are those? 03:32.946 --> 03:36.383 - So, internally it allows our dieticians, 03:36.383 --> 03:40.720 our exercise folks, our health coaches to be literally in the 03:40.720 --> 03:42.756 room with our physicians. 03:42.756 --> 03:45.692 Why should it always just be about the doctor? 03:45.692 --> 03:50.063 For many people, the doctor is like the least important thing. 03:50.063 --> 03:53.033 Changing behavior is the critical thing to help people 03:53.033 --> 03:54.468 become healthier. 03:54.468 --> 03:58.939 So, we designed our clinical space at Crosstown to actually 03:58.939 --> 03:59.940 make that happen. 03:59.940 --> 04:06.746 Then, the partnerships that have now been formed at Crosstown, 04:06.746 --> 04:07.747 Church Health Y. 04:07.747 --> 04:11.618 Not only can you be in the Church Health Wellness space, 04:11.618 --> 04:16.456 but you can be part of the Y all over the city. 04:16.456 --> 04:18.458 And then we formed a partnership 04:18.458 --> 04:20.460 with the Southern College of Optometry. 04:20.460 --> 04:22.462 Our eye clinic will literally have no walls. 04:22.462 --> 04:27.000 The SCO and Church Health space will all be one. 04:27.000 --> 04:29.002 And then it goes on and on from there. 04:29.002 --> 04:31.271 - And so, to get there, you know, 04:31.271 --> 04:33.273 you have to have some measure of success. 04:33.273 --> 04:35.275 Of course you've been around for nearly 30 years and that in 04:35.275 --> 04:36.276 itself is a thing. 04:36.276 --> 04:39.546 But to make this move and t make this huge thing happen, 04:39.546 --> 04:42.215 you've had to have a lot of success over the last few years. 04:42.215 --> 04:44.217 Maybe you can talk about some of the success that you've built 04:44.217 --> 04:46.453 there that's led up to this moment. 04:46.453 --> 04:49.689 - Well, the success is just about Memphis. 04:49.689 --> 04:55.028 The success of Church Health has everything to do with this 04:55.028 --> 04:58.698 community as its generosity, its giving, 04:58.698 --> 05:02.736 its willingness to seriously take care of our neighbors. 05:02.736 --> 05:05.772 You know, the people we care for are the people who work to make 05:05.772 --> 05:07.440 our lives comfortable. 05:07.440 --> 05:08.441 They cook your food. 05:08.441 --> 05:10.744 They take care of your kids, your grandkids. 05:10.744 --> 05:11.878 They cut your grass. 05:11.878 --> 05:13.747 They'll one day dig your grave. 05:13.747 --> 05:14.748 They don't complain. 05:14.748 --> 05:20.587 But what I have experienced is people understand that and want 05:20.587 --> 05:24.224 to reach out and say how can we lock arms and do this together. 05:24.224 --> 05:27.427 You know, we are a true faith-based organization. 05:27.427 --> 05:30.430 But that means you don't have to believe the way Scott believes. 05:30.430 --> 05:32.833 Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu. 05:32.833 --> 05:35.468 God calls us all to do the same things. 05:35.468 --> 05:38.905 And that's what we do is try to give people the opportunity 05:38.905 --> 05:40.240 to give back. 05:40.240 --> 05:41.508 - In 29 years, 30 years.. 05:41.508 --> 05:44.044 And I was thinking about this when we were getting ready to do 05:44.044 --> 05:45.045 the show. 05:45.045 --> 05:47.047 I've been in Memphis 20 years and, 05:47.047 --> 05:49.049 you know, there was no farmer's market. 05:49.049 --> 05:51.051 Now there are, I don't know, 15 or more and lots 05:51.051 --> 05:52.052 of community gardens. 05:52.052 --> 05:53.053 And there were no bike lanes. 05:53.053 --> 05:55.055 And now there are bike lanes everywhere and the Greenline and 05:55.055 --> 05:56.656 other paths and plans for more. 05:56.656 --> 05:59.859 That sort of transformation that is about wellness 05:59.859 --> 06:01.294 and how people live. 06:01.294 --> 06:04.464 Again, back to I think your point of the doctor being the 06:04.464 --> 06:06.199 least important part of this. 06:06.199 --> 06:08.735 Has that been edifying to see that people are becoming more 06:08.735 --> 06:10.737 aware and taking care of themselves? 06:10.737 --> 06:13.206 And are those kinds of things like farmer's markets and bike 06:13.206 --> 06:16.176 lanes and so on, are they available to the working folks 06:16.176 --> 06:17.277 that you deal with? 06:17.277 --> 06:18.278 - Right. 06:18.278 --> 06:20.280 So, we have enormous challenges. 06:20.280 --> 06:22.549 But the opportunity, and I really believe Crosstown will 06:22.549 --> 06:24.517 help us get there in a big way. 06:24.517 --> 06:27.988 I think food, for example, is really the unifying factor 06:27.988 --> 06:29.422 at Crosstown. 06:29.422 --> 06:33.226 And really at the center of that will be the nutrition center run 06:33.226 --> 06:34.561 by Church Health. 06:34.561 --> 06:35.562 It has two big components. 06:35.562 --> 06:37.564 One is something called culinary medicine. 06:37.564 --> 06:39.566 We formed a partnership with Tulane Medical School and a guy 06:39.566 --> 06:40.567 named Dr. Gourmet. 06:40.567 --> 06:42.569 He actually was a successful chef in New Orleans. 06:42.569 --> 06:44.571 Goes to medical school and learns that you don't learn 06:44.571 --> 06:46.573 anything about nutrition in medical school, 06:46.573 --> 06:47.574 which I can attest to is right. 06:47.574 --> 06:49.576 But this is all about teaching medical students, 06:49.576 --> 06:51.578 doctors, not just in Memphis, across the world, 06:51.578 --> 06:56.583 about how do you actually eat better. 07:05.191 --> 07:07.193 And you do it by actually getting in the kitchen and 07:07.193 --> 07:08.194 cooking. 07:08.194 --> 07:11.131 And this will be open to other people to just learn 07:11.131 --> 07:12.599 cool things cooking. 07:12.599 --> 07:18.238 The other piece of our kitchen will be in partnership as a 07:18.238 --> 07:19.439 commercial kitchen. 07:19.439 --> 07:23.743 So, all these programs you've talked about have actually now 07:23.743 --> 07:25.845 come together, working together. 07:25.845 --> 07:29.082 Our kitchen will be their focus. 07:29.082 --> 07:33.386 And the issue of food deserts in Memphis is complicated. 07:33.386 --> 07:36.656 With many of our patients, you don't solve the problem by 07:36.656 --> 07:39.559 giving a 28-year-old single mother, 07:39.559 --> 07:43.330 working two jobs, fresh fruits and vegetables and tell her, 07:43.330 --> 07:45.632 now go home and spend an hour-and-a-half cooking 07:45.632 --> 07:46.633 that food. 07:46.633 --> 07:49.736 There's a 100% chance that will not work. 07:49.736 --> 07:53.406 So, we've got to find a way to give her healthy food for her 07:53.406 --> 07:57.243 children in a way that is affordable and that she can 07:57.243 --> 07:59.879 prepare it in a reasonable amount of time. 07:59.879 --> 08:02.515 - And just recently announced that Curb Market, 08:02.515 --> 08:05.118 which is a store, a grocery store, 08:05.118 --> 08:09.322 a locally sourced grocery store, open in Cooper Young in the last 08:09.322 --> 08:11.991 year or so, will be opening a much bigger store in Crosstown. 08:11.991 --> 08:13.993 And that had been a goal, I think, 08:13.993 --> 08:15.995 from, you know, Todd Richardson and the other people from the 08:15.995 --> 08:16.996 beginning of Crosstown. 08:16.996 --> 08:18.998 And there is a food desert up there in some ways. 08:18.998 --> 08:21.000 Locally sourced food would be available. 08:21.000 --> 08:23.002 And so you're partnered somewhat with Curb Market. 08:23.002 --> 08:25.772 And I should say the owner of the Curb Market is the owner of 08:25.772 --> 08:28.541 The Daily News, which, you know, doesn't really matter too much 08:28.541 --> 08:29.809 but I should disclose that. 08:29.809 --> 08:32.078 So, but talk about having Curb Market in there, 08:32.078 --> 08:34.080 which will bring food from a lot.. 08:34.080 --> 08:36.516 It's almost like a retail farmer's market to some extent. 08:36.516 --> 08:37.817 - That's exactly right. 08:37.817 --> 08:41.688 And the food they prepare that will be sold at Curb Market will 08:41.688 --> 08:44.624 actually be cooked in the commercial kitchen 08:44.624 --> 08:45.625 of Church Health. 08:45.625 --> 08:50.830 So, Peter's decision to come to Crosstown is incredibly exciting 08:50.830 --> 08:55.235 to me and to everybody that we work with. 08:55.235 --> 08:58.138 But there will also be onsite 08:58.138 --> 09:01.074 a three-quarter acre community garden. 09:01.074 --> 09:04.878 One the roof, there will be a hundred tower gardens that if 09:04.878 --> 09:06.880 you're not familiar with that, this is a way to.. 09:06.880 --> 09:09.149 You don't need any earth. 09:09.149 --> 09:10.850 It's aeroponically grown. 09:10.850 --> 09:13.586 It's a business run by Juice Plus here in town. 09:13.586 --> 09:17.090 But a hundred tower gardens will grow enough fruits and 09:17.090 --> 09:22.061 vegetables for almost a thousand people. 09:22.061 --> 09:23.329 - Back to Toby. 09:23.329 --> 09:25.331 - Just thinking about the transition that, 09:25.331 --> 09:27.333 you know, you're going to start moving in February. 09:27.333 --> 09:29.369 When are you going to close the clinic over there on Bellevue 09:29.369 --> 09:31.237 and Peabody? 09:31.237 --> 09:35.008 - Yeah, so the idea is not to have a big gap. 09:35.008 --> 09:37.710 You know, I know this is probably nuts and I might 09:37.710 --> 09:39.079 regret saying this. 09:39.079 --> 09:42.549 But, I mean, we're going to be seeing patients one day on 09:42.549 --> 09:44.551 Peabody and we're going to be seeing patients 09:44.551 --> 09:45.785 on Crosstown the next. 09:45.785 --> 09:48.521 - And the other places out there under Wellness, 09:48.521 --> 09:49.522 you'll be out of there. 09:49.522 --> 09:51.524 You'll be out of the kind of iconic, 09:51.524 --> 09:53.526 I think, location of the current Church Health Center. 09:53.526 --> 09:55.795 What's going to happen to some of those properties? 09:55.795 --> 10:01.601 - So, it's very complicated as you might imagine. 10:01.601 --> 10:05.905 Our wellness center on Union will actually become taken over 10:05.905 --> 10:08.508 as classrooms by the Baptist College of Nursing. 10:08.508 --> 10:12.612 Our spaces on Peabody will be a combination 10:12.612 --> 10:15.081 of behavioral health programs. 10:15.081 --> 10:17.217 And then I'm very excited about this, 10:17.217 --> 10:21.254 that the Dorothy Day House will take over three of our houses 10:21.254 --> 10:26.726 and be places for homeless families to live. 10:26.726 --> 10:29.229 - So, how do you.. 10:29.229 --> 10:33.099 Crosstown is in, you know, an area that's close to an area 10:33.099 --> 10:35.101 that the folks you want to serve. 10:35.101 --> 10:37.103 But how do you get out in the community? 10:37.103 --> 10:39.105 I mean, will you still have other locations separate from 10:39.105 --> 10:41.341 Crosstown or how do you get people to Crosstown who are 10:41.341 --> 10:43.543 maybe in Southeast, you know, Memphis 10:43.543 --> 10:46.946 or Northeast Memphis, etcetera? 10:46.946 --> 10:47.947 - Yeah. 10:47.947 --> 10:49.949 So, this is one of those things that people have always 10:49.949 --> 10:51.951 struggled to understand how this works for us. 10:51.951 --> 10:54.554 But when I say we have a thousand doctors who volunteer, 10:54.554 --> 10:56.556 most of them don't come on site. 10:56.556 --> 10:58.558 They see people in their own office. 10:58.558 --> 11:01.895 So, I effectively have a thousand locations. 11:01.895 --> 11:03.897 - I've never understood that which is my fault. 11:03.897 --> 11:04.898 But keep going. 11:04.898 --> 11:07.133 - So, they see people in their own office 11:07.133 --> 11:08.568 all over the community. 11:08.568 --> 11:11.804 So, we have doctors in Germantown, 11:11.804 --> 11:16.376 Collierville, South Memphis, Southaven who are willing to 11:16.376 --> 11:19.045 take patients into their own office and treat them for free. 11:19.045 --> 11:21.047 - So, in that sense, Church Health.. 11:21.047 --> 11:23.049 I keep wanting to call it Church Health Center. 11:23.049 --> 11:25.285 But Church Health coordinates their care, 11:25.285 --> 11:26.286 coordinates those appointments. 11:26.286 --> 11:28.521 So, they go into whatever doctor's office just like any 11:28.521 --> 11:29.522 other patient. 11:29.522 --> 11:31.691 But you're essentially almost their insurer. 11:31.691 --> 11:33.760 - That's exactly right. 11:33.760 --> 11:35.161 Coordination is the issue. 11:35.161 --> 11:38.631 And, look, I'm not for a moment telling you that this is easy. 11:38.631 --> 11:41.367 It took us 30 years to build the network. 11:41.367 --> 11:45.271 But the amazing thing is there is really not a problem somebody 11:45.271 --> 11:48.741 could have from the cradle to the grave we can't take care of 11:48.741 --> 11:52.111 with the enormous support of the medical community in Memphis. 11:52.111 --> 11:55.014 So, every hospital, every laboratory, 11:55.014 --> 11:56.649 a thousand physicians. 11:56.649 --> 11:59.619 Again, this is one of these things that Memphis should be 11:59.619 --> 12:02.555 beating its chest over not because of Church Health but 12:02.555 --> 12:05.224 because of look at what we're doing to take care 12:05.224 --> 12:06.593 of our own community. 12:06.593 --> 12:10.063 - And talk a little bit back into Crosstown building the YMCA 12:10.063 --> 12:12.165 that will be there and how large. 12:12.165 --> 12:16.736 It won't just be treating people through or serving people 12:16.736 --> 12:17.737 through Church Health. 12:17.737 --> 12:18.738 Right? 12:18.738 --> 12:20.740 I mean, there are a whole lot of tenants in the building who can 12:20.740 --> 12:22.742 take advantage of the Y that will be in there soon. 12:22.742 --> 12:23.743 - Exactly. 12:23.743 --> 12:27.246 And that's part of why our wellness program needed to 12:27.246 --> 12:31.918 change because there will be 3,000 people in this building, 12:31.918 --> 12:33.920 many of whom are, you know, fairly affluent. 12:33.920 --> 12:37.290 And so, that's not the mission of Church Health 12:37.290 --> 12:38.891 to deal with that. 12:38.891 --> 12:41.294 So, you can join the Y. 12:41.294 --> 12:44.497 You will have an unbelievable place to exercise. 12:44.497 --> 12:48.935 There will eventually be a pool and a gymnasium. 12:48.935 --> 12:52.872 So, we're going to focus on what we do really well. 12:52.872 --> 12:55.541 Issues of nutrition, weight loss, 12:55.541 --> 12:57.877 health coaching for our patients. 12:57.877 --> 12:59.946 Everybody will have access to that. 12:59.946 --> 13:03.282 But the partnership with the Y is one of those things we're 13:03.282 --> 13:04.283 very excited about. 13:04.283 --> 13:05.318 - It's always interesting. 13:05.318 --> 13:06.452 You know, I've known you. 13:06.452 --> 13:09.489 I was talking to you before the show and I've known you for ten 13:09.489 --> 13:11.491 years now when I got started on the healthcare beat 13:11.491 --> 13:12.492 a long time ago. 13:12.492 --> 13:16.262 And I would always check in with you and with Church Health as 13:16.262 --> 13:18.698 kind of a barometer for the rest of the economy. 13:18.698 --> 13:23.436 And I know that our economy is doing better and the recession 13:23.436 --> 13:24.837 seems to have waned and things. 13:24.837 --> 13:27.340 But it Memphis keeping up with that? 13:27.340 --> 13:30.610 Are you seeing it in your patients and your patient mix 13:30.610 --> 13:31.611 and all those things? 13:31.611 --> 13:35.581 Are you seeing an improvement in the economy just with the folks 13:35.581 --> 13:36.716 that you see? 13:36.716 --> 13:39.719 - You know, I'm not sure I am a good barometer of that because 13:39.719 --> 13:43.322 we see the maximum number of people we can every day. 13:43.322 --> 13:45.491 And that really has not changed in 30 years. 13:45.491 --> 13:51.297 I will tell you one of the things that has changed in our 13:51.297 --> 13:56.302 patient mix is 50% of our new patients speak Spanish. 13:59.038 --> 14:00.039 Right. 14:00.039 --> 14:04.577 - I was at a Latino Memphis event, 14:04.577 --> 14:07.680 I don't know, two, three, four weeks ago and it was amazing the 14:07.680 --> 14:08.681 numbers they had. 14:08.681 --> 14:13.052 90,000 I think Latino families, the number in the workforce. 14:13.052 --> 14:16.155 And it was really an eye opening set of numbers. 14:16.155 --> 14:18.691 But kind of along with what Toby is saying, 14:18.691 --> 14:20.693 over the past, and you've been on the show talking 14:20.693 --> 14:21.694 about this before. 14:21.694 --> 14:23.696 Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act, 14:23.696 --> 14:25.698 which you referenced was rolled out, 14:25.698 --> 14:27.700 you know, what, almost seven years ago now. 14:27.700 --> 14:29.702 Has that changed your clientele? 14:29.702 --> 14:31.704 Has it changed your business at all? 14:31.704 --> 14:34.941 I shouldn't call it a business but the way you operate? 14:34.941 --> 14:37.243 Because it's had such a big impact on the rest of the 14:37.243 --> 14:38.244 healthcare community. 14:38.244 --> 14:41.781 Or are you in a space where it just doesn't really impact you? 14:41.781 --> 14:44.250 - In one word, I would say no. 14:44.250 --> 14:49.756 It's made my life complicated outside of our clinical setting. 14:49.756 --> 14:53.192 But, you know, the answer is no. 14:53.192 --> 14:55.261 And until Memphis.. 14:55.261 --> 14:58.064 Until Tennessee expands Medicaid, 14:58.064 --> 15:01.000 it will have virtually no impact on the people we take care of. 15:01.000 --> 15:04.871 Now if that were to happen, we will actually be exceedingly 15:04.871 --> 15:08.641 aggressive about trying to enroll people into Medicaid. 15:08.641 --> 15:11.744 But our problem right now is that we've actually worked very 15:11.744 --> 15:16.015 hard to sign people up on the Exchange 15:16.015 --> 15:17.917 and they just can't afford it. 15:17.917 --> 15:21.454 - The options aren't there because the original plan, 15:21.454 --> 15:24.724 it's such a politicized issue in the Obamacare thing. 15:24.724 --> 15:28.528 But the original plan was that states would be incented by the 15:28.528 --> 15:31.030 federal government to expand Medicaid. 15:31.030 --> 15:33.733 They'd get it 100% for the first couple of years reimbursements. 15:33.733 --> 15:35.868 And then it slides down to about 90% reimbursement 15:35.868 --> 15:37.003 from the federal government. 15:37.003 --> 15:39.939 And about 25 states took on Medicaid expansion and about 25 15:39.939 --> 15:42.041 haven't, give or take I think. 15:42.041 --> 15:44.777 More conservative states like Tennessee haven't. 15:44.777 --> 15:46.212 Is that just maddening for you? 15:46.212 --> 15:51.184 This what advocates of doing it say this free money is out there 15:51.184 --> 15:54.587 to help the people in need who are in a gap, 15:54.587 --> 15:56.589 many of them working, contributing. 15:56.589 --> 15:57.590 They're not.. 15:57.590 --> 16:01.093 They're people contributing and working. 16:01.093 --> 16:02.094 But.. 16:02.094 --> 16:04.096 So, does it just drive you nuts? 16:04.096 --> 16:06.098 - It ought to be maddening for everybody because what is 16:06.098 --> 16:10.570 happening is we're taking your tax dollars and we're giving 16:10.570 --> 16:11.571 them to people. 16:11.571 --> 16:14.540 Your tax dollars are going to take care of the healthcare 16:14.540 --> 16:16.542 needs of people in New York City. 16:16.542 --> 16:18.578 And they thank you for that. 16:18.578 --> 16:21.447 But because of whatever political reasons, 16:21.447 --> 16:23.783 Nashville has said thank you but no thank you. 16:23.783 --> 16:28.721 We hate the President so much we would rather give Tennessee tax 16:28.721 --> 16:30.890 dollars to New York City. 16:30.890 --> 16:35.528 Now no matter what you think about the Affordable Care Act, 16:35.528 --> 16:41.968 we're giving away billions of dollars outside of Tennessee for 16:41.968 --> 16:45.538 a reason that I don't see it making any sense what so ever. 16:45.538 --> 16:47.807 - Do you see that changing at any point? 16:47.807 --> 16:52.612 I mean, maybe when the president.. 16:52.612 --> 16:54.614 There's a new president in November. 16:54.614 --> 16:56.616 So, does that change the political dynamic? 16:56.616 --> 16:57.617 - I believe so. 16:57.617 --> 16:59.619 I think no matter who wins come next January, 16:59.619 --> 17:00.620 Tennessee will do something. 17:00.620 --> 17:04.056 I'm not sure exactly what it will be whether it's Speaker 17:04.056 --> 17:09.061 Harwell's plan or whether we actually, 17:12.164 --> 17:17.837 you know, get our brains around this and actually go and expand 17:17.837 --> 17:19.839 Medicaid and take this free money. 17:19.839 --> 17:21.440 But I don't know. 17:21.440 --> 17:24.777 - I'll go one more on this and I'll go back to Toby. 17:24.777 --> 17:26.979 The people who have been on the show, 17:26.979 --> 17:28.981 state legislators, who did voted against expansion, 17:28.981 --> 17:31.984 some of them have always said we went through this terrible 17:31.984 --> 17:34.620 process some years ago with TennCare of purging people 17:34.620 --> 17:35.621 from the role. 17:35.621 --> 17:37.623 - And it was terrible, that's exactly right. 17:37.623 --> 17:39.625 - It was difficult and it was painful. 17:39.625 --> 17:42.895 And if we take this money now that is free for a few years or 17:42.895 --> 17:44.997 is 100% free for a few years and then it's 90%, 17:44.997 --> 17:46.999 we're going to run into a jam and we're going to have to purge 17:46.999 --> 17:48.000 the roles again. 17:48.000 --> 17:49.568 And so, we don't want to go 17:49.568 --> 17:51.570 through that terrible experience again. 17:51.570 --> 17:54.941 - And I absolutely would agree that that's a risk. 17:54.941 --> 17:58.744 In the meantime, we are giving billions of dollars away. 18:01.180 --> 18:03.182 - So, the state exchanges, you know, 18:03.182 --> 18:05.184 if you've been keeping up with that, 18:05.184 --> 18:07.553 that, you know, premiums, they just got the state approval to 18:07.553 --> 18:08.554 raise the premiums. 18:08.554 --> 18:10.656 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, 18:10.656 --> 18:14.427 which is Chattanooga based, got 60% premium increase approved by 18:14.427 --> 18:16.896 state officials just last month. 18:16.896 --> 18:20.933 Two others, Cigna, Humana, they were allowed to raise rates by 18:20.933 --> 18:23.102 40% from thereabouts. 18:23.102 --> 18:26.272 Because they were ready to shrink their footprints or leave 18:26.272 --> 18:27.273 the state altogether. 18:27.273 --> 18:32.178 And so, the Commerce Insurance Commissioner Julie McPeak 18:32.178 --> 18:34.180 allowed them to raise their rates. 18:34.180 --> 18:35.181 And that was.. 18:35.181 --> 18:38.617 She caught a lot of fire from that from both sides of the 18:38.617 --> 18:39.618 party. 18:39.618 --> 18:41.620 Of course, Republicans saying that the increases just show 18:41.620 --> 18:42.989 that Obamacare is not working. 18:42.989 --> 18:45.458 These exchanges aren't working for people. 18:45.458 --> 18:49.328 And Democrats have said that was a political move on their part 18:49.328 --> 18:52.932 because McPeak used some language that said that they 18:52.932 --> 18:55.601 were very near collapse in the state. 18:55.601 --> 18:58.871 And a lot of political posturing going on around that. 18:58.871 --> 19:01.540 And while it's not on the official agenda, 19:01.540 --> 19:05.244 I don't think, for the state's special session next week, 19:05.244 --> 19:08.080 it will definitely be talked about I'm sure as they kind of 19:08.080 --> 19:09.081 come around there. 19:09.081 --> 19:11.550 So, there's some more movement happening around there for sure. 19:11.550 --> 19:14.920 - The politics of this, y'all, is beyond my paygrade. 19:14.920 --> 19:19.325 But what you just said is exactly why Church Health has to 19:19.325 --> 19:21.193 grow in this community. 19:21.193 --> 19:25.498 One of the things I say all the time is that anybody in Memphis 19:25.498 --> 19:31.003 is crazy to argue with each other because we have all chosen 19:31.003 --> 19:32.338 to live in Memphis. 19:32.338 --> 19:35.474 Nobody cares about Memphis except for Memphians. 19:35.474 --> 19:36.509 Nashville doesn't. 19:36.509 --> 19:39.378 I am 100% sure Washington doesn't. 19:39.378 --> 19:43.382 So, we just have to roll up our arms and take care of our own. 19:43.382 --> 19:45.551 And that's what Church Health does. 19:45.551 --> 19:48.087 And we do it in an amazing way. 19:48.087 --> 19:51.290 But I can assure you we need your support in order to do this 19:51.290 --> 19:54.293 because no matter what happens in Washington, 19:54.293 --> 19:56.295 it will not put as out of business. 19:56.295 --> 19:58.531 - And talk about expansion plans maybe just a little bit for 19:58.531 --> 19:59.532 y'all coming up down the road. 19:59.532 --> 20:01.534 You have a big new space, new patients, 20:01.534 --> 20:02.535 new doctors. 20:02.535 --> 20:03.536 - Yeah. 20:03.536 --> 20:07.006 So, we're going from 27 exam rooms to 62. 20:07.006 --> 20:09.408 Just gives you a feel for that. 20:09.408 --> 20:13.245 We're going from nine dental chairs to 24 dental chairs, 20:13.245 --> 20:15.514 what will become one of the largest free-standing dental 20:15.514 --> 20:16.849 clinics in America. 20:16.849 --> 20:20.886 Our eye care, our behavioral health issues. 20:20.886 --> 20:22.988 The problem with substance abuse 20:22.988 --> 20:24.090 in this community, y'all. 20:24.090 --> 20:28.627 Rich, poor, black, white, beyond belief. 20:28.627 --> 20:30.730 We just put our head in the sand around it. 20:30.730 --> 20:33.666 You know, we're not putting our head in the sand about it. 20:33.666 --> 20:35.901 We're going to do our best to try to, 20:35.901 --> 20:38.537 again, engage the faith community to say this is 20:38.537 --> 20:40.539 something we ought to care about. 20:40.539 --> 20:43.175 And then, y'all, the issue I will lay down in the street over 20:43.175 --> 20:46.378 is around immigrant workers. 20:46.378 --> 20:49.248 You know, I don't know what our future immigration policy 20:49.248 --> 20:50.249 will be. 20:50.249 --> 20:52.251 But if you're working in Memphis, 20:52.251 --> 20:54.253 you're building a house in Germantown, 20:54.253 --> 20:57.456 you've been here for ten years, you fall off the roof and you 20:57.456 --> 21:01.260 break your arm, I believe we have some obligation 21:01.260 --> 21:02.495 to help you. 21:02.495 --> 21:04.530 And if you come to Church Health, 21:04.530 --> 21:07.399 you're going to get the best care that we have to offer. 21:07.399 --> 21:11.070 - I don't want to put you in a weird place but I'll ask anyway. 21:11.070 --> 21:13.239 What are the legalities about that? 21:13.239 --> 21:15.074 I mean, you just don't ask? 21:15.074 --> 21:17.176 I guess you don't have to ask for identification if you're 21:17.176 --> 21:19.178 going to treat someone who has fallen off a roof. 21:19.178 --> 21:20.179 You don't have to check their.. 21:20.179 --> 21:22.481 At this point, you're just going to help them. 21:22.481 --> 21:23.516  (Scott)    That's exactly right. 21:23.516 --> 21:25.518 - And you may know that this person is here illegally. 21:25.518 --> 21:27.520 You may have a sense of it but it's just not.. 21:27.520 --> 21:29.522 You're not going to ask, I guess. 21:29.522 --> 21:31.690 - Actually I do ask about whether they are undocumented 21:31.690 --> 21:36.562 because it helps me figure out a path of moving forward. 21:36.562 --> 21:40.266 But y'all, we don't have enough time to tell stories. 21:40.266 --> 21:42.701 But I can tell you horror stories that you're going, 21:42.701 --> 21:45.638 that couldn't possibly happen in America. 21:45.638 --> 21:46.639 But it does. 21:46.639 --> 21:48.440 And we see it every day. 21:48.440 --> 21:50.976 - I'm gonna switch back to the building. 21:50.976 --> 21:53.913 There's a high school going in the building and it's not 21:53.913 --> 21:55.915 opening but in a year-and-a-half or so. 21:55.915 --> 21:58.384 Will you guys be involved with that in any formal way or just 21:58.384 --> 21:59.385 sort of informally? 21:59.385 --> 22:00.386 - How cool is this? 22:00.386 --> 22:03.088 One of the things that people don't know we've done for almost 22:03.088 --> 22:04.490 20 years is run a preschool. 22:04.490 --> 22:07.660 It's just a mile from Crosstown. 22:07.660 --> 22:09.228 Got Klondike Elementary. 22:09.228 --> 22:12.998 You could argue maybe the poorest neighborhood in Memphis 22:12.998 --> 22:15.267 and maybe one of the poorest neighborhoods in America. 22:15.267 --> 22:19.271 But we have 178 children. 22:19.271 --> 22:23.309 And our success rate is amazing. 22:23.309 --> 22:27.646 But what we get excited about is those children could eventually 22:27.646 --> 22:30.115 come to Crosstown High School. 22:30.115 --> 22:34.987 And it could be a mix between children who live in Klondike 22:34.987 --> 22:38.757 who started at Perea and then they graduate 22:38.757 --> 22:40.059 from Grace St. Luke's. 22:40.059 --> 22:42.928 Why do they have to go to a private school in the future if 22:42.928 --> 22:46.632 you have an incredibly fantastic Shelby County School 22:46.632 --> 22:48.067 right there. 22:48.067 --> 22:49.902 That's the better mouse trap. 22:49.902 --> 22:52.605 And so, yes, we will absolutely be involved 22:52.605 --> 22:54.373 in Crosstown High School. 22:54.373 --> 22:58.244 - This is a bit of a shift but we've covered it a lot. 22:58.244 --> 23:00.246 I think you all have covered it as well. 23:00.246 --> 23:01.247 We've had it on the show. 23:01.247 --> 23:05.050 The changes in the medical district and trying to make that 23:05.050 --> 23:08.220 area which is such a strange area with all these institutions 23:08.220 --> 23:09.488 from St. Jude to.. 23:09.488 --> 23:11.490 They're a little out of the way there. 23:11.490 --> 23:13.492 But, you know, I still call it The Med. 23:13.492 --> 23:15.494 Where Regional One is, where Methodist is, 23:15.494 --> 23:17.496 and how it's a very unlivable place. 23:17.496 --> 23:18.497 And there are, what? 23:18.497 --> 23:20.499 Twenty to thirty thousand people who work there. 23:20.499 --> 23:22.501 I was thinking because we're going to be talking about these 23:22.501 --> 23:24.503 wellness issues and health issues. 23:24.503 --> 23:26.639 It's fascinating to me that in that area for most of the 20 23:26.639 --> 23:28.641 years I've been in Memphis, the only thing you could get to eat 23:28.641 --> 23:32.077 in the medical district with these world class facilities 23:32.077 --> 23:34.713 were fried chicken, cheese burgers and french fries. 23:34.713 --> 23:37.249 And then not walkable. 23:37.249 --> 23:41.620 Just kind of the worst sort of landscape in terms of health 23:41.620 --> 23:42.955 both in living. 23:42.955 --> 23:45.324 You've got to commute far. 23:45.324 --> 23:46.859 Food is just awful. 23:46.859 --> 23:48.294 Your thoughts on that. 23:48.294 --> 23:50.296 I know you guys aren't directly involved or I don't think you're 23:50.296 --> 23:51.297 directly involved. 23:51.297 --> 23:53.299 But your thoughts on this kind of them 23:53.299 --> 23:54.300 looking inside themselves. 23:54.300 --> 23:56.302 Does this reflect a little bit more of the medical community 23:56.302 --> 24:00.239 going, hey, all we do is we teach you how to do heart 24:00.239 --> 24:03.976 surgery but we don't teach you how to eat well and exercise and 24:03.976 --> 24:05.177 avoid the heart surgery. 24:05.177 --> 24:07.446 - And so, the reason for that, believe it or not, 24:07.446 --> 24:09.148 has to do with the money. 24:09.148 --> 24:11.350 You know, you're not paid to teach people 24:11.350 --> 24:12.518 about how to eat better. 24:12.518 --> 24:15.387 So, that's why we formed this partnership with Tulane. 24:15.387 --> 24:20.159 I absolutely believe that the food issues that Crosstown will 24:20.159 --> 24:25.731 be transformative, not just for the Crosstown area but for all 24:25.731 --> 24:26.732 of Memphis. 24:26.732 --> 24:30.869 We will be training doctors around how you get them to 24:30.869 --> 24:32.805 actually learn to teach people. 24:32.805 --> 24:35.174 And then within the neighborhood itself. 24:35.174 --> 24:37.676 There's intentionally only 60,000 square feet 24:37.676 --> 24:40.179 of retail space at Crosstown. 24:40.179 --> 24:42.348 There will actually be several restaurants there. 24:42.348 --> 24:46.518 But 3,000 people, small city, living and working there. 24:46.518 --> 24:48.520 And they're going to get bored with the building. 24:48.520 --> 24:52.991 And it will spread out into the opportunity to build new 24:52.991 --> 24:56.295 restaurants, new food opportunities 24:56.295 --> 24:57.396 in and around Crosstown. 24:57.396 --> 25:01.500 - But you were on the show when all of this was announced a year 25:01.500 --> 25:02.501 or two ago. 25:02.501 --> 25:04.636 And you were very pointed that you didn't want to be a part of 25:04.636 --> 25:06.105 gentrifying that neighborhood. 25:06.105 --> 25:09.575 It's a mixed income neighborhood that in some ways has seen some 25:09.575 --> 25:10.576 better times. 25:10.576 --> 25:11.744 But does that still.. 25:11.744 --> 25:13.746 Does it worry you when you talk about.. 25:13.746 --> 25:15.114 And we said it before. 25:15.114 --> 25:17.750 The average income of the people working there 25:17.750 --> 25:19.918 can be medium to high. 25:19.918 --> 25:23.288 Does that inadvertently gentrify the neighborhood? 25:23.288 --> 25:26.859 - So, we care deeply about the neighborhood just north of us. 25:26.859 --> 25:29.194 That's where Perea, our preschool, is. 25:29.194 --> 25:34.032 Over the last year, we've had some multiple shootings 25:34.032 --> 25:35.033 in our playground. 25:35.033 --> 25:38.704 I'm not good with that. 25:38.704 --> 25:41.540 So, the people with guns, I want to leave. 25:41.540 --> 25:46.178 But the people who have lived there and care deeply about that 25:46.178 --> 25:48.981 part of town, we're bringing them with us. 25:48.981 --> 25:51.717 You know, poor people love art. 25:51.717 --> 25:53.786 Poor people love to eat well. 25:53.786 --> 25:55.988 You know, they don't have to go away. 25:55.988 --> 26:00.392 We are doing this together because I believe this is what 26:00.392 --> 26:02.161 God's imagination is all about. 26:02.161 --> 26:03.162 - Alright. 26:03.162 --> 26:04.163 Well, thank you for being here. 26:04.163 --> 26:05.164 Thank you, Toby. 26:05.164 --> 26:06.165 And thank you for joining us. 26:06.165 --> 26:07.299 Join us again next week. 26:07.299 --> 26:11.069 [theme music]