Friends,

Last Friday, we had our biggest crowd yet at our Quality Improvement Learning Collaborative Summit -- No. 15 -- with attendance just shy of 200. David W. Baker, MD, the keynote speaker from Northwestern University, shared eye-opening realities of what low literacy means for prevention and self-management -- and how lousy most health care organizations' written communications for patients are. Then Dr. Baker shared some tested strategies. My key takeaway: You can't do it without the help of patients.

The lively Q & A that followed the talk suggests that there's strong interest in Greater Cleveland to do better. So, do you have ideas? Have you figured out how to write instruction sheets and discharge summaries that low-literacy patients can understand? Shoot me a note at [email protected] if you've got something to share, and let me know your thoughts about what our Better Health community might do together.

Dr. Baker's and other presenters' slides have posted at here.

I look forward to hearing from you!




hipc1NEW FUNDING FOR PRESSING CHALLENGES
The Centers for Disease Control awarded Health Improvement Partnership of Cuyahoga County (HIP-C) a grant to fund public health initiatives to reduce chronic disease, promote healthier lifestyles, reduce health disparities and control health care spending in targeted neighborhoods where health disparities are high.

Better Health is pleased to be a partner. Our role as an anchor for HIP-C's priority to address chronic disease includes our commitment to help nine community clinics implement an evidence-based best practice to improve African Americans' control of high blood pressure. Our Data Center will serve as the hub for clinical and socio-demographic data from its clinical partners, which include virtually all of the region's safety-net providers. The Cuyahoga County Board of Health, which will lead the work, and Case Western Reserve University's Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods also are included in the grant. HIP-C's proposal was among 49 nationally to receive the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) grant, will receive $997,349 for the first year of a three-year grant.

Congratulations to all!
mainevisit2TALKING CLEVELAND RESULTS IN VIRTUAL VISIT TO MAINE
Alice Stollenwerk Petrulis, MD, of MetroHealth, and Thomas Love, PhD, of Better Health, presented a webinar on using electronic health records to target improved care at the invitation of Maine Quality Counts, a statewide regional health improvement collaborative based in Portland, ME. The webinar featured MetroHealth's Care Plus Medicaid Waiver and Better Health's Red Carpet Care programs. The presentation is available here.
obesity3OBESITY BY THE NUMBERS
A new report on obesity offers state-by-state data and policies to address the growing health problem for American adults. A special report on disparities -- which are growing -- is included at http://stateofobesity.org/disparities, with detailed analyses, interviews and commentary of public experts and policy recommendations.


 
fiveohios4THE FIVE OHIOS
With election season in full bloom, a quick lesson about Ohio's diverse demographic makeup may help you explain to your kids why Ohio is viewed nationally as a "bellwether." Cleveland's Center for Community Solutions makes it easy in "The Ohio 100," a new 4-1/2 minute animated video. It's fun!


 
paymentreform5ANOTHER DIRECTION IN PAYMENT REFORM?
The payment reform landscape has many contours. We spotted this provocative Health Affairs blog post from Catalyst for Payment Reform's Suzanne Delbanco, about another flavor of payment models: provider non-payments for care that could or should have been avoided.
goodnews6(GOOD) NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS
Care Alliance Health Center and other partner organizations this fall will increase mental health services to include a clinician-staffed van that will regularly visit eight permanent supportive housing sites to provide mental health services. In addition, clinicians will be able to increase the amount of time they spend at men's and women's shelters serve residents' mental health needs. Read the Plain Dealer story.

Congrats to HealthSpan. For a third year, HealthSpan's commercial and Medicare "Integrated Care" plans ranked No. 1 in the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) health plan rankings for 2014-2015.
memberARE YOU A MEMBER YET?
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