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Health Authority hosts Integrated Mental Health Focusing Event
On July 21, the Health Authority will host an Integrated Health Focusing Event from 9 am to 12 pm at the New Center. The event will bring together an array of individuals who play a role in creating policies around financing and administering integrated mental health services in Wayne County and in other areas around the region. It is the first initiative of its kind in the area. It is also the culmination of Health Authority Intern, Nicole LaBrie's, summer field experience.
When LaBrie arrived at the Health Authority in May, she was charged with the task of evaluating the county's delivery of integrated mental health services within the context of safety net care.LaBrie, who earned her Master of Social Work degree, and spent years working as a psychiatric emergency services professional and a recipient rights officer in Washtenaw County before returning for a second graduate degree at Michigan in Health Services Administration, immediately set to work. She quickly realized, however, that the job was much more nebulous, and more multi directional, than she had initially anticipated. At this point, she decided that collaboration between stakeholders must be facilitated through an initial meeting.
"My goal is to get everyone with the answers around the table," LaBrie said. "We need to learn more about what people are doing, why they're doing it, and what kind of barriers they're running into."
The term "integrated mental health services" refers to a portion of a community health medical home in which patients can find resources - such as counseling, psychiatric substance abuse services, and housing services - to treat any type of severity of mental health conditions. The Health Authority's interest in pursuing this initiative stems from its mission to provide access to all types of care via a primary care medical home model. The issue of mental health care is particularly salient, as individuals with a serious mental illness die 25 years earlier, on average, than those in the general population, according to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors.
For more information about the event, please contact Nicole Labrie at 313-871-3751, or at nlabrie@dwcha.org. |
Fathers join mothers for fun and health advice at baby shower
Traditionally, men don't receive invitations to baby showers. The events typically provide women with an opportunity to fawn over tiny outfits and have fun.
But on July 10, the Detroit Wayne County Health Authority, in partnership with Carter Metropolitan Christian Methodist Episcopal Church's, is breaking that mold, and hosting a different kind of baby shower. The shower itself will be held at the church - located on West Grand Boulevard and West Warren -- and is open to the first 50 mothers and fathers who either have a child on the way or under age one, and pre-register for the event.
A health fair, offering AIDS screenings, lead testing, asthma assessments, and blood pressure measurements, will run concurrently, with lunch to follow. This meal is offered daily by Carter's "To God be the Glory Outreach Ministries," which is also spearheading this church's involvement in the community baby shower.
In order to attract fathers to the event, organizers have solicited a number of donations, and will hold raffles geared toward men, as well as more general raffles for bigger-ticket baby items, such as a stroller, and grocery gift cards. Participants can also still experience some of the more traditional elements of a baby shower in the form of games such as "Baby Bingo."
Additionally, Dr. Varisa Perlman, an Oakwood-affiliated pediatrician, will discuss maternal nutrition, as well as provide advice on appropriate newborn care.
Carter Metropolitan CME Church is located at 1510-12 West Grand Blvd. For more information, please contact Michele Calloway at 313-871-3751 or at mcalloway@dwcha.org.
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Community Outreach staff prepare for Taylor Back To School Health Assessment
After the rousing success of last summer's Back-to-School Physical Program in Inkster, the United Way approached the Health Authority to ask if the effort could be duplicated in Taylor the following year.
The answer was, "Yes."
The city opened a new Federally Qualified Health Center on July 1. This facility will play host to the Taylor Back-to-School Physical Program, which is likely to occur in late August. The event will feature well-child exams, lead testing, vision and hearing testing, counseling, health education, and Medicaid outreach.
The region's Medicaid HMOs will also identify members in Taylor who might benefit from these services, and individually invite them to attend. The date of the program will be determined within the next few weeks.
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Walk for the Uninsured is just around the corner
The Health Authority's second annual Walk for the Uninsured is fast approaching, and will be held on Saturday, August 15 at Belle Isle Casino. Registration will begin at 9 am, followed by the Walk at 10 am. The event's primary goal is to raise awareness of and garner support for an estimated 280,000 residents of Wayne County who do not have health insurance, and a growing number of others with inadequate health coverage.
This year, Metro Solutions has agreed to be the Walk's premier sponsor, and CBS radio will be the media sponsor. Rose Khalifa, Executive Director of Metro Solutions, and Wayne Bradley, President and CEO of the Detroit Community Health Connection will co-chair the event. It will also feature speakers, a medical home pavilion, and the Health Authority's "Best of the Safety Net" awards.
Although the event is free, walkers are encouraged to form teams and collect donations. The money will be contributed to the Uncompensated Care Fund, which underwrites the cost of providing care for the uninsured at community health centers.
For more information, including walker registration and collection forms, please contact Megan Kolodgy at 313-871-3751 or at mkolodgy@dwcha.org.
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Hospital organization expresses concern about Medicaid cuts
A longer-than-anticipated state budget session may result in significant Medicaid reimbursement cuts in 2010. Michigan's Senate approved an eight-percent decrease from this year's payments. In the coming months, a committee will reconcile the Senate and House versions of the budget, and finalize the document.
The Michigan Health and Hospital Association recently launched a grassroots campaign encouraging its members, as well as individuals and organizations to contact their senators and voice their discontent with the proposed cuts. The protests, however, were not enough to prevent the measure, which is expected to save an economically ailing state an estimated $94.9 million.
The Health Authority has supported this campaign in principal, noting that the Medicaid reduction threatens all providers - hospitals, physicians, and health centers. "Hospitals have played a critical role in the health care safety net - often shouldering the burden of inappropriate use of emergency facilities for primary and chronic care. We need immediate and creative alternatives to hospital care for Medicaid and uninsured patients," Health Authority CEO Chris Allen said.
"Adequate hospital inpatient and outpatient resources must be preserved for the appropriate needs of Medicaid and uninsured patients. Likewise, adequate funding also needs to be preserved for primary care providers who offer alternative sites for treating Medicaid patients. While hospital jobs are threatened by the state's action, also critically important is the human crisis of increasing numbers of Michigan residents becoming disenfranchised from the health care system," he added.
The budget also includes provisions for a physician tax of up to two percent. The monies raised through this tax would be used to increase the federal match for Medicaid, and mediate the eight-percent cut. This measure is likely to be unpopular with doctors, as it was when Governor Jennifer Granholm proposed a similar program in 2005. The cuts will also have a detrimental effect on Medicaid patients' access to care, as it could prompt even fewer physicians to participate in the program.
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Computer System Allows Easy Access to ED Patient Information
At four hospitals around the state, many Medicaid patient records will be at emergency department staffs' fingertips.
In late June, these institutions rolled out MyVitalData PlanLink, which supplies hospital staff with critical information regarding patients' medications, test results, physician visits, and prior hospitalizations.
This service, developed by Vital Data Technology, should allow doctors to quickly gain a more sophisticated understanding of the patient's unique situation, and tailor care accordingly. The technology also has the capacity to alert managed care organizations when their members use the ED, permitting follow-up and appropriate use of emergency care services. This feature could be put to use relationships between health systems and FQHCs, like those being explored by the Health Authority's Uncompensated Care Committee.
These advantageous partnerships might not have been forged without the help of Health Plan of Michigan, which facilitated meetings between the hospitals and the health IT company. Located in Detroit, HPM is the state's second-largest Medicaid HMO, serving approximately 175,000 members. While none of the hospitals that have adopted this technology, HPM is willing to assist in further connecting Vital Data Technology with hospitals.
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Uncompensated Care Committee Workgroup Update
Members of the Uncompensated Care Committee reported significant progress last month. In an article published in Crain's Detroit Business noted plans to establish Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) adjacent to hospital emergency departments for more appropriate treatment of uninsured patients presenting non-emergent conditions. Convened by the Health Authority, the Committee has set out to establish organizational and financial arrangements that improve coordination of - and, by extension, access to - care between health systems and federally qualified health centers. Denise Holmes, Associate Dean for Government Relations and Outreach for the College of Human Medicine at Michigan State University, presented to both the entire Committee and to the Finance Workgroup on how arrangements between health systems and FQHCs can be advantageous. All parties agreed that they would like to explore this option further. Thus, talk turned to defining the constellation of options in terms of contractual arrangements and plan operation within legal and organizational bounds. There was particular interest in co-location of hospitals and FQHCs, so as to remove barriers for patients to seek non-urgent care at FQHCs, rather than in the ED setting. Individuals at the Health Authority agreed to examine similar arrangements at other health systems in Michigan and elsewhere in the nation. This process will be facilitated by Holmes, as well as by Dick Bohrer, former Director of the Division of Health Center Development at the Bureau of Primary Care and Co-Chair of the Primary Care Network Council, who has served on the Committee. At the meeting of the Physicians Workgroup, Dr. Cynthia Taueg of St. John Health System (SJHS) discussed the "Physicians Who Care Initiative," a SJHS program linking specialists with community health centers. Their efforts have provided a critical, and often absent, component of the medical home that CHCs provide. Committee members expressed interest in "Physicians Who Care," and agreed tolook into how to operationalize similar models in other local health systems. The full Committee meeting will be held at the Health Authority on July 16. |
The Health Authority welcomes its new fellow
As the Health Authority initiatives grow, the importance of measuring the effectiveness of them becomes more prominent. Andrew Pritchard has joined the Health Authority through a two-yhear fellowship focused on program evaluation.
Pritchard graduated in April with a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Michigan. Last summer, he worked for the Community Aid and Sponsorship Program (CASP) in Kerala, India, building a program evaluation tool for their initiatives to get people enrolled in government-subsidized, low-cost insurance. He has also honed his evaluation skills as a research assistant for Dr. Paula Lantz, Chair of the Department of Health Management and Policy at U of M, and in an independent study course in which he traveled to China to examine access to care. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from U of M in 2007.
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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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