In July 2010, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the "Gateway to Better Health" Demonstration for the St. Louis region.  Through this Demonstration, more than $18 million ─ that would not have been available otherwise ─ already has been invested to preserve and enhance primary and specialty care services for the uninsured in the St. Louis region.   Per the terms and conditions provided by CMS, the Demonstration will fund a Pilot Program that transitions the health care safety net to a "coverage model," beginning July 1, 2012. Extensive planning is now underway for implementation of the "coverage model." It is estimated that 16,000-20,000 uninsured individuals in our region will be served through this Pilot Program.  RHC serves as the fiscal agent and regional planning body for this Demonstration.   RHC would like to thank CMS, the State of Missouri, and all local partners that have provided support and input into this process to date. Look for more information soon as the July 1, 2012, date approaches!

George Washington University (GWU) and the Commonwealth Fund have selected St. Louis as one of a handful of communities to research as a national model for how community health services can be improved through collaborative efforts. In March, visitors from the two organizations visited St. Louis to learn about the "St. Louis model", and especially the great work implemented through the St. Louis Integrated Health Network (IHN).

The national report from GWU and the Commonwealth Fund will be available later this year.

In February, RHC hosted a team of Coro Fellows (www.coro.org) for a month-long "Group Project" rotation.  During their internship, the Fellows spoke with more than 100 community members and university researchers concerning the St. Louis Community/University Health Research Partnerships (CUHRP) initiative.  The overall goal of CUHRP is to help identify innovative models of care that have the potential to improve the health of the community and to foster long-term relationships between academic researchers and community organizations.  The RHC serves as the fiscal agent for the $1.5 million in program funds from BJC HealthCare, Saint Louis University School of Medicine and Washington University School of Medicine.   The Fellows found great enthusiasm for the CUHRP project to date from both community and university members. The Fellow's final report is available at www.stlrhc.org.

In addition, the creative team at BJC HealthCare graciously donated its services to create a "community-friendly" description of the CUHRP initiative and its progress to date.    This report will be available this summer.  RHC and its CUHRP partners especially thank the BJC team for their amazing work on this report.