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Health Authority provides $300,000 in outreach grants to community organizations
Several community-based organizations, identified for their capacity to engage uninsured residents of Detroit and Wayne County, have been -- or will be -- awarded grants of up to $10,000 to conduct community outreach activities on behalf of the Health Authority, announced Chris Allen, chief executive officer, Health Authority. The grant awards will total $300,000 over the next few months.
"We believe that the best results is to find people and organizations who are good at what they do and ask them to help you," says Allen. "We believe that these grants represent the greater partnership we have with community organizations in making connections between the uninsured and health services."
The organizations plan to conduct Medicaid outreach and public awareness activities of various kinds, including door-to-door canvassing, expanding Medicaid programs to families, assistance with applications and documentation, community events, and exhibits at health fairs. The current awardees are:
· Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association
· American Indian Health and Family Services of Southeastern Michigan, Inc.
· Central Detroit Christian CDC
· Communities in Schools
· Detroit Acorn
· Detroit Friendship House
· Detroit Parent Network
· Piast Institute
· Ravendale Community, Inc.
· Samaritan Center
· Youth on the Edge of Greatness |
East Side Planning Team targets development of primary care medical homes
The East Side Planning Team, which arose out of the closure of St. John Riverview Hospital, has adopted a charge that will ultimately produce recommendations for establishing a network of primary care "medical homes" for all residents in the area. Specific objectives for 2008 include:
· Conduct a primary care needs assessment.
· Collaborate with St. John Health as decisions are being made regarding the Detroit Riverview campus and increase essential services in that community.
· Formulate a plan to use current health care capacity in the Southeast Detroit area as effectively as possible, and expand health care services in the area.
· Develop a strategy for involving other health systems in the area.
· Identify policy or regulatory issues that would facilitate or impede implementation of the model system.
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Local Medicaid outreach program extends statewide
A creative alternative to hospital-managed Medicaid outreach programs developed by the Health Authority is being adopted by hospital systems serving people beyond Wayne County. Most recently, Accretive Health, which represents 17 hospitals statewide, has signed an agreement for the Health Authority to provide Medicaid outreach services. The Health Authority will provide programmatic oversight and train staff and patient advocates involved in Medicaid outreach and enrollment at the five health organizations represented by Accretive Health:
· Borgess Health System, Kalamazoo
· Genesys Health System, Flint
· St. Joe's Health System, Tawas City
· St. John Health, Detroit
· St. Mary's Health System, Saginaw
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Provider Advisory Committee begins dialogue with emergency departments
Emergency care providers are key to establishing medical homes for the uninsured. The Provider Advisory Committee has reviewed the challenges of redirecting patients - both insured and uninsured - to federally qualified health centers for appropriate care. The Committee established a subcommittee of hospital emergency department directors to strengthen existing relationships and discuss ways to redirect patients to FQHCs.
The committee has adopted four indicators that define a medical home:
· A regular physician or source of medical care
· No difficulty contacting a provider by telephone
· No difficulty getting care or medical advice on weekends or evenings
· Well-organized, prompt physician visits |
Health Authority announces new appointments
Chris Allen, executive director of the Health Authority, has announced five new appointments:
· Faith Polk, Outreach Director
· Joslyn Pettway, Administrative Fellow
· Dennis Archambault, Public Affairs Director
· Tom Leger, strategic planning consultant and coordinator of the Primary Care Network Council
· James Chesney, health policy consultant
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Dr. Sophie Womack: A Remembrance
The Detroit Wayne County Health Authority has lost a prominent physician advisor and passionate advocate for health access, Dr. Sophie Womack. Dr. Womack died on Sunday, Feb. 17, following complications from recent surgery. Dr. Womack, one of Detroit's most prominent physicians, served as chair of the Provider Advisory Committee, an essential component of the Health Authority's structure. "She had an extraordinary passion for families, especially for women experiencing a high risk pregnancy, and low birth rate children. I wanted her to share that passion with the Health Authority, and she did that to the end," noted Chris Allen, executive director, Health Authority.
Dr. Womack had been vice president for Medical Affairs at Harper University Hospital and Hutzel Women's Hospital, as well as a former division chief of Neonatology at Sinai Grace Hospital. She served as president of the Detroit Medical Center Medical Staff from 2004 to 2006 and has also served as president of the Wayne County Medical Society.
"Dr. Womack had the pulse of the physician community regarding access to care. She performed her role to an exemplary degree, making essential inroads in this very challenging area. We were working on an initiative to redirect non-emergent care to a patient-centered medical home. Dr. Womack wanted more of our federally qualified health centers to become fully utilized and felt that many of the patients treated in emergency rooms should have a medical home. The Health Authority, she believed, could help redirect these patients to health centers and relieve inappropriate use of emergency departments," Allen said. |
The Detroit Wayne County Health Authority's mission is to coordinate efforts to meet the health needs of the uninsured and underinsured residents in Detroit and Wayne County by assuring access and improving the health status of all people.
"It's about access...for all."
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