Quality Community Health Care’s financial troubles have deepened this summer
The North Philly clinic lost its federal funding because it was years behind on filing audited financial statements. A new audit was filed this month, but the auditor couldn't vouch for the numbers.
When Pele Lewis arrived at Quality Community Health Care’s clinic in North Philadelphia Wednesday for his 1:30 p.m. appointment, he found the doors locked and a sign saying the clinic was “closed today.”
Lewis was puzzled. “They called me this morning” with a reminder to come in, he said, as he stared at the door.
The clinic, known as QCHC, was closed Thursday and Friday, as well, according to its phone message.
“For many of our patients, QCHC is far more than a medical office,” its CEO, Helen Wilkinson, said in an email. “Members of our community are treated with dignity and respect regardless of their ability to pay.”
She did not answer specific questions.
The clinic at 2501 W. Lehigh Ave. began operating in 1981 under a federal program designed to provide medical and dental care in neighborhoods with few other options.
Its troubles became public in the spring.
After years of warnings from federal regulators that the clinic was delinquent on its audits, officials took the rare step in March of suspending it from the federally qualified health center program. At that time, audits for the years 2021 to 2024 were overdue. Now, the same is true for 2025. Typically such audits are due nine months after the fiscal year ends.
A new audit
In a small sign of progress, Quality Community Health Care last week posted an audit for the fiscal year that ended July 31, 2021, on a federal audit clearinghouse. Federal regulators had given a May 2 deadline to complete that audit or risk termination.
The fiscal 2021 audit pointed to significant problems.
“None of the data in it can be verified by the auditor,” said Steven Balsam, a professor of accounting at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.
The auditor put it this way in the filing: “Because of inadequacies in QCHC’s accounting records, we were not able to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence for the amounts” stated in numerous categories of the financial statements.
“I don’t know if just filing reports, if they look like this, is going to get them their funding back,” said Balsam, who reviewed the audit at The Inquirer’s request.
The federal Health Resources and Services Administration, which regulates federally qualified health centers, has not responded to questions about QCHC since the suspension.
Missed paychecks
Some employees were not paid on July 10 and July 24, according to an email from the organization’s chief financial officer to staff Monday. This followed the organization not receiving the main federal funding for health centers, known as Section 330 grants, CFO Denise Ingram wrote.
“QCHC is experiencing significant cash flow constraints following the suspension of 330 grant funding associated with the unresolved FY2021 audit submissions requirements,” Ingram wrote in the email obtained by The Inquirer.
“QCHC remains committed to paying employees for all wages earned. Leadership continues to pursue funding, financing, and other lawful alternatives to address outstanding payroll obligations and restore normal operation,” the email said.
Ingram did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
