Following Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana native, Ranie Thompson dreamt of establishing the first medical-legal partnership (MLP) in the state. Though resources thwarted her plans at the time, today she spearheads the legal services team at CrescentCare—a Federally Qualified Health Center —that provides free legal aid to people living with HIV (PLWHIV) across the state of Louisiana.
Founded in 2012 after a merger between AIDSLaw and CrescentCare, the Legal Services team has historically served PLWHIV and their legal needs as a Ryan White program award recipient. In recent years, their services have expanded to LGBTQIA+ patients. Their approach, Thompson described, is to stay in touch “with the community so that we build our program in response to community, in response to the needs that are coming to us and not duplicating what’s already in the community.”
The legal services team—staffed with 9 employees, 7 of whom are attorneys, including Thompson— receives referrals from case managers, social workers, or medical providers in the CrescentCare health system who are trained in screening patients for legal needs. The MLP also serves clients referred by other 15 partner organizations across the state. Although the MLP is sometimes faced with turnover among clinical staff, the legal services team has a model in place to “educate and bring people up to speed pretty quickly because there’s a consistency and a continuity in who we are and the faces of this department, we’ve been really stable and even through the pandemic,” explained Thompson.
“It’s increasing their awareness and empowering them to be advocates for themselves, to reach out for the legal assistance that they need.”
– Ranie Thompson, JD, Director of CrescentCare Legal Services
The value of their MLP goes beyond increased access to health care, housing, employment, food and financial stability, and educational opportunities for clients. “It’s increasing their awareness and empowering them to be advocates for themselves, to reach out for the legal assistance that they need. That’s a huge shift to know that they’ve got a place where they can go and be heard and get the assistance that they need,” said Thompson.
Yet, like many other organizations serving marginalized populations, CrescentCare has felt the effects of discriminatory policies being considered and implemented across the country. “There’s a lot of confusion, there’s a lot of fear. There’s a great deal of distrust in systems that’s been taken to a whole new level in light of what’s handed down.” Despite these challenges, the legal services team has been working tirelessly with policymakers, educating clients on their rights, and keeping staff on task “to keep providing the best services that we can in the face of all of what’s happening in this country.”
When asked about CrescentCare’s goals for the future, Thompson revealed that she envisions their organization “being the lead model MLP for the state of Louisiana for all persons who need a level of legal services that supports holistically what’s happening in their healthcare.” Still, securing funding to support their expansion is a barrier CrescentCare is working to overcome.
To learn more about the medical-legal partnership at CrescentCare and support their work, please visit: https://www.crescentcare.org/
Acknowledgments
The National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership (NCMLP) expresses its sincere gratitude to MLP Practitioner and Attorney Ranie Thompson for participating in an interview and contributing to the development of this article as a resource for other MLPs. We also thank the staff of CrescentCare for its continued efforts to improve health care access, quality, and equity for the people of Louisiana. We look forward to seeing and supporting them in their MLP journey.
NCMLP also expresses its gratitude to HRSA for its support. This resource is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $550,000 with 0% financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.