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East Side Initiative fills void from Detroit Riverview Hospital closure
The East Side Planning Team, coordinated by the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority, has released a major policy report, "Ensuring Essential Health Services on Detroit's Near East Side." Central to the group's recommendations is establishing a method for ensuring that all 70,000 people living in the area have access to a medical home - a comprehensive approach to providing community-based, patient-centered primary health care. An estimated 15,000 residents in the area - defined by zip codes 48207, 48213, 48214, and 48215 - do not have a personal physician. Many use hospital emergency facilities for primary and chronic care.
The East Side Planning Team, which worked for a little more than a year, involves 22 hospital, health center, public health, and community representatives either based on the Near East Side, or having a significant interest in community health.
"This initiative is indicative of what we can achieve when the health care community comes together to solve a problem. The synergy of these efforts doesn't just solve a problem, it creates a model of health care delivery that is replicable elsewhere," said Chris Allen, Executive Director and CEO of the Health Authority. "We are pleased with the leadership of St. John Health and the many community organizations that have made this initiative possible."
"The collaborative effort undertaken on Detroit's East Side can be a model for development of the medical home for families in the area," explained Adam Jablonowski, Executive Director of the Wayne County Medical Society. Jablonowski also serves as Chair of the Health Authority's Provider Advisory Committee. "Now, we must move forward with the training of more primary care physicians to meet the challenge of delivering the care."
Other recommendations issued by the East Side Planning Team include:
> Strengthen existing health care safety net providers. Representatives of the Michigan Primary Care Association and Health Authority staff will provide technical and financial assistance for community health centers.
> Expand primary care capacity. Add at least 20 new primary care providers at existing health centers and new sites, preferably as affiliates of existing Federally Qualified Health Centers. Oral/dental health services, as well as mental health and substance abuse services, will also be available to health centers on a centralized basis.
> Organize the system of care. Develop a "hub and spoke" model of service delivery that will ensure comprehensive primary and urgent care services are available in the "hub" location while primary medical care in the medical home is accessible in spoke locations. The St. John Riverview campus will become the "hub" for the integrated system of care. At a minimum, services in the "hub" will include primary medical care, urgent care, behavioral health, oral health, pharmacy, and social services. A transportation network will enable people to easily access the full continuum of services.
> Implement an emergency facility diversion strategy. In collaboration with the Voices of Detroit Initiative (VODI), the Health Authority will engage all Detroit health systems to redirect non-emergent patients to primary care sites. A community and patient education program focused on changing behavior regarding how people access care will discourage use of hospital emergency services for non-emergent care. People will be encouraged to call United Way 2-1-1 to secure a primary care provider.
> Create connectivity within the "hub and spoke" model through technology. Funding will be secured to ensure that all safety net providers have electronic health records and other records to track, manage, and support patient care, including e-prescribing.
The Health Authority will provide a $400,000 grant to launch this initiative, including the addition of a program director. Additional funding will come from local, state, and federal resources.
For a full copy of the report visit the Health Authority's website, www.healthaccess1, go to documents and click on "Ensuring Essential Health Services on Detroit's East Side."
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VODI, St. John initiate emergency department diversion pilot program
Voices of Detroit Initiative (VODI) and St. John Hospital have designed an emergency department diversion pilot project for Detroit's East Side, which is expected to begin by the end of the year, according to Lucille Smith, VODI Executive Director. Uninsured people who use emergency departments because they don't have primary care providers will be referred to Health Centers Detroit, Advantage Health at the old Holy Cross Hospital site, or Detroit Community Health Center's East Riverside and Kercheval sites. The program will use VODI data on the uninsured.
A similar pilot project is under discussion with Detroit Receiving Hospital on the Midtown campus of the Detroit Medical Center. In that model, the members of the Medical Student Service Organization of the Wayne State University School of Medicine will partner with the uninsured to help them transition from the emergency room to primary care site, providing answers to questions regarding prescription assistance, engaging primary care providers, and other transitional issues.
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Inkster Back-to-School Physical Initiative offers parents follow up options
If parents take advantage of annual screenings and back-to-school physicals, what do you offer those who need additional follow up? Nearly 30 percent of the children taking advantage of the myriad of health screening and physical exam services offered during the Health Authority's inaugural Back-to-School Physical program in Inkster in August required some form of follow up health or dental services.
Through collaborative partnerships, the Health Authority was able to assure that parents were provided a health appraisal detailing findings from the screenings and exams along with recommendations from physicians. Parents were provided assistance and take away material on how to apply for publicly funded insurance as well as information on how to access to health services for their children.
Children unable to take advantage of free immunizations or required follow up for dental or health services were referred to the Wayne County Health Department, Western Wayne Family Health Center, or the Inkster Teen Clinic operated by Oakwood Healthcare.
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Chris Allen addresses
'health care challenges' at MSMS conference
Chris Allen, Executive Director and CEO of the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority, will be among the featured speakers at the Michigan State Medical Society 2008 Masters Series educational conference on Thursday, Oct. 23 at the Somerset Inn, Troy. He will be part of a panel discussion on "Health Care Challenges and Solutions of the Next Decade - Part I". His remarks will cover the Near East Side initiative and the implementation of the medical home concept. The conference is open to physicians, administrators, and health care professionals. To register visit www.msms.org/eo.
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Backgrounder
How the Presidential candidates view health policy
Two trillion dollars a year are spent in the U.S. on health care that is often not accessible, affordable or highest quality. The 2008 Presidential candidates have outlined their views on how to provide insurance coverage for the roughly 50 million people who do not have it and at the same time reduce the cost of health care for everyone. Health care policy views mirror their economic views generally. The McCain plan expands the individual insurance market. The Obama plan subsidizes and regulates the current public-private health insurance market. Sen. McCain seeks to treat employer based insurance payments as taxable wages. In exchange he would give families a $5,000 tax credit that can be used to buy insurance either through their employer or on the individual market. Sen. Obama's plan would regulate, but not change tax policy in the current the employer-based system. It would set up a government run plan that would be open to everyone. The cost of insurance for low income workers would be subsidized. For more details on how the candidates differ in their views on health care, go to www.healthaccess1.org look for "Backgrounders" on the home page.
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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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