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WCHAP has formal launch
The Wayne County Healthcare Access Program (WCHAP) formally announced its program to a group of clinical and community supporters on May 12. WCHAP is a private-public collaborative that recently received a two-year demonstration grant from the Kresge Foundation to improve the quality of care for Wayne County children while lower health care costs. The Health Authority is the fiduciary partner and provides in-kind support services.
WCHAP is part of a national movement to increase the quality of health care by increasing the "medical homeness" of primary care practices. WCHAP will serve 2,500 to 3,000 children with direct services designed to: increase quality, well-child visits, and care coordination; decrease costs by lowering unnecessary emergency services and hospitalizations; support primary care practices and school health clinics to improve "medical homeness;" and specialty collaboration for asthma, obesity, integrated behavioral health and physical health, and maternal-child-teen health.
"The strategic partnership between WCHAP and the Health Authority is a welcomed ally in our effort to extend access to health services for children and families," said Chris Allen, CEO of the Health Authority. "We believe that everyone - every child - deserves a medical home. We also believe that every child deserves access to health and wellness. WCHAP's emphasis on chronic diseases and obesity, integrated behavioral health, and maternal/child health are perfectly aligned with the goals of the Health Authority's evolving wellness initiative."
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AHEC hosts Lapeer High tour of WSU health academic options
For most of the 20 high school students from Lapeer High School, it was their first visit to an academic health center. On May 19, the Wayne State University College of Nursing, School of Pharmacy and Allied Health, and the School of Medicine hosted these students as part of the Area Health Education Center program. In addition to talking with health professionals in each area, the students also had some hands-on experience. They were given scholarship and enrollment. "This experience is essential to drive interest among high school students to pursue health careers," explained Michele Calloway, Associate Director of the Southeast Michigan AHEC, based at the Health Authority.
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MOSES begins 'New Engagement Organizing in Public Health'
MOSES, a faith-based community advocacy organization in Southeast Michigan, has initiated "New Engagement Organizing in Public Health," as part of the Healthy Heartland program. Over 30 community health advocates, public health, and health system representatives attended a training program on the initiative, May 24, which will evolve into a health equity coalition. The training featured a presentation by Amy Schultz, a U-M School of Public Health researcher and Danielle North, a community organizer with the Warren/Conner Development Corporation. They discussed a cardiovascular disease surveillance project and general health equity training. Ponsella Hardaway, executive director of MOSES, provided a primer on "Community Organizing and Power Analysis."
MOSES/Southeast Michigan is one of six community organizing projects in Midwestern states designed to promote health equity. Healthy Heartland Partners follow the World Health Organization's definition of health equity: "the absence of unfair and avoidable or remediable differences in health among population groups defined socially, economically, or geographically." The Health Authority shares the commitment to achieving health equity in the Southeast Michigan region and has pledged support for MOSES' efforts to succeed in this objective.
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St. John Community Health opens neighborhood health and safety office
St. John Providence Community Health, together with Healthy Neighborhoods Detroit and other community partners, opened a Neighborhood Health and Safety Office at its Conner Creek Village campus on Detroit's Eastside. The center is designed to provide a community resource for the enhancement of health, safety, and well-being for the residents of the area. The resource center is funded through the Michigan Department of Community Health.
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VODI announces 'IMPACT - A Healthy Living Campus'
Voices of Detroit Initiative (VODI) will begin its IMPACT - A Healthy Living Campus with a community health event on Friday, June 17. Partners in the project are St. John Providence Health System and Detroit Community Initiative, as well as 40 affiliate organizations. The goal of the project is to reduce the incidence of diabetes and hypertension and help those already affected by the diseases through community-based education and activities. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with an opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m. The event will include fitness training sessions, featuring Steven Pierce, a Fox2 News fitness expert, as well as aerobics and cooking demonstrations. For more information call 313-288-9450.
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Covenant takes care on the road
Sometimes you have to get out of the health center to reach the people who need care in the community. Covenant Community Care collaborated with EACH (Everyone a Chance to Hear) Community Empowerment Resource Fairs to launch its new medical screening and treatment van. The mobile unit is used as part of the Connect EACH to Care initiative, which has arranged weekly health fairs in conjunction with community health and social services throughout Detroit this spring.
Developed by BUSES International, which specializes in creating mobile home-sized health facilities on wheels, the medical van will have an extended outreach role throughout the year. The 32-foot long medical trainer is outfitted with heat and air conditioning, running water, and two small exam rooms connected by a third room used as a lab. BUSES International is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that converts trailers and RVs into mobile medical, dental, and surgical units for use in mission work throughout the world. The organization has also created a mobile dental unit which will become operational this summer. A third vehicle, owned by Detroit Rescue Mission, will also be created with shower units, clothes washers, and dryers for the homeless.
The Health Authority outreach staff is supporting the EACH initiative with Medicaid/health benefit enrollment counseling on site and follow-up enrollment services. There were five health fairs in April and May, with one tentatively scheduled for June 4 in Midtown Detroit.
EACH is a collaboration of over 500 churches and faith-based organizations throughout the region committed to improving the quality of life in Detroit. For information on EACH, visit www.eachtoday.com or call 313-836-7732.
Health fair season is in full swing
Beginning with the EACH series of health fairs in May, several community and faith-based health fairs are planned through the end of summer. The next in line is "Body & SOUL BLUE Challenge Recognition and Community Health Day" on Saturday, June 25, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Fellowship Chapel, 7707 W. Outer Drive, Detroit. This collaboration of 13 churches, underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, with the sponsorship of St. John Providence Community Health and supported by the American Cancer Society and Health Authority Outreach staff, will offer screenings for diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure, and prostate cancer, as well as enrollment counseling for Medicaid and other health programs.
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New Circle of Care gets name: 'New Center/Midtown'
The inaugural New Center/Midtown Circle of Care meeting was held on May 4at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church on West Grand Blvd., with representatives from 14 faith-based, social & human service agencies, and health organizations present. While we plan to meet on a regular basis at Tabernacle, the group has also decided to interject occasional visits to other C of C participants as well - for instance, in May we elected to meet at the City of Detroit's J. R. Williams Recreation Center on Rosa Parks Blvd. We sincerely appreciate the efforts of Gail Richardson, its director, who served as a gracious host and provided an informative tour of the facility and its programs. (Be sure to visit www.healthaccess1.org for more information on Circles of Care.)
Lions Hearing Center of Michigan
During April and May, Phil Wells, Executive Director for the Lions Hearing Center (LHC) of Michigan, gave presentations at most of our Circle of Care programming sites. Its mission is to meet the hearing health needs of the uninsured and medically underserved, primarily in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Monroe counties. Services include free screenings for Children, Youth and Seniors; Follow-up care regardless of ability to pay; and Hearing Aid Assistance. This is a great organization which has clinics in Southfield, Dearborn and Bloomfield Hills. Arrangements can also be made for screenings at other sites. If you know someone who could use their services, please call Ron Beford @ 810-923-6940 or send an e-mail to rbeford@yahoo.com.
2011 Interfaith Prayer Breakfast
Plans have been finalized for the 2011 Interfaith Prayer Breakfast which will be held on Wednesday June 15th at the Oakwood Common Retirement Community. This year's program is titled "A Beacon of Hope in Troubled Times" with our featured speaker being Rev. Dr. Tony Marshall. Chaplain/Coordinator of Clinical Pastoral Education at the Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center. Please refer to the Registration Announcement that was recently released - there is NO CHARGE, but registration is required - information is available at the Health Authority's web site www.healthaccess1.org
Interfaith Health & Hope Coalition Board Meeting
The quarterly meeting of our Board of Directors was held on Thursday, May 19, at the Health Authority. Several organizations gave informative presentations addressing the needs of the uninsured and underserved, including nutrition, disparities in the delivery of care, health screenings, prevention and advocacy. Such presentations afford the IHHC an excellent opportunity to identify key collaborative and advocacy opportunities. We heard from Get Fresh Detroit, Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Jewish Community Relations Council and Michigan Improved Medicare for All. The next Interfaith Health & Hope Coalition Board Meeting will be held on Thursday Aug. 18. If you would care to join us and make a presentation at that time, please contact Ron Beford at 810-923-6940 or at rbeford@yahoo.com.
Ron Beford,
IHHC Executive Director
We are working on the site but soon you will be able to find up-todate information. Check us out and friend us when you have a chance!
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Backgrounders
Public opposes converting Medicaid to block grants
A Kaiser Family Foundation poll has found that 60 percent of respondents say they want Medicaid left alone, with the federal government guaranteeing coverage and setting minimum standards for benefits and eligibility. Congress is debating whether to convert Medicaid to block grants to reduce costs. According to a May 25 Kaiser report, "Support for maintaining the current program may be due at least in part to the public's personal connections to Medicaid and a strong sense of the program's importance. About half of Americans say they or a friend or family member has received Medicaid assistance at some point, and a similar share say the program is important to their family." For details on this study go to www.kff.org.
Kaiser releases Medicaid report: 'Ensuring Access to Care in Medicaid under Health Reform'
Anticipating the estimated 16 million low-income Americans who will gain Medicaid coverage by 2019, and another 16 million people projected to gain private health coverage through new, state-based health insurance exchanges, the Kaiser Commission has published an extensive report on the implications of this aspect of the Affordable Care Act. Key issues covered in this report include:
· A larger primary care workforce will be needed to meet increased demands for access as Medicaid expands.
· Access to specialists is a serious and growing concern in Medicaid.
· Access to mental health care will be a pressing issue as millions of low-income adults, many of them with mental health and substance abuse treatment needs, will become eligible for Medicaid.
· Adequate payment rates are an important component of efforts to improve provider participation in Medicaid.
· Managed care plans appear likely to be the delivery systems in which an increasing share of the Medicaid population will access care.
· Safety-net hospitals and health centers are a critical source of access to care for Medicaid beneficiaries.
· Team-based care and integrated service delivery systems can promote better access.
· Coordination between Medicaid and health exchange coverage will be important to support continuity of coverage and care for low-income people.
For a copy of this report, publication #8187, visit the Kaiser Family Foundation website at www.kff.org.
JAMA study examines factors associated with closures of EDs in US
Emergency department diversion programs have assumed a sense of urgency in some cities where hospital emergency departments are closing, leaving the uninsured and underserved population without a safety net source of care. The Journal of the American Medical Association examined this phenomenon in its May edition. From 1990 to 2009, the number of hospitals with emergency departments in non-rural areas declined from 2,446 to 1,779, with 1,041 EDs closing and 374 hospitals opening EDs. For-profit hospitals, and safety-net/urban/ low profit margins were more likely to close than their counterparts.
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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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