For Immediate Release
January 16, 2007
Contact: Megan Licursi
513-404-2545
Health Foundation’s Regional Primary Care Access Initiative Gets
“Fast-Tracked”
The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati has awarded $843,800 to six organizations to improve access to primary care. These are the first grants to be awarded as part of the Health Foundation’s Regional Primary Care Access Initiative (RPCAI), a program to achieve 100 percent access to primary healthcare for the people of Greater Cincinnati.
In 2005, the RPCAI steering committee developed the conceptual framework and identified the key components of a regional primary care system. (More information on the history of the initiative can be found at www.healthfoundation.org/rpcai.html.)
“The committee examined models that have succeeded in other metropolitan areas to see if any could work in our region,” said Judith Warren, program officer for Community Primary Care at the Health Foundation. “We also reviewed regional data and the current distribution of resources within our 20-county service area.”
As a result of this examination, the steering committee determined that critical infrastructure improvements were needed as part of restructuring the regional safety net and improving service integration. These areas of improvement comprise the first phase of developmental projects that the Health Foundation is funding. They are tied to best practices for demonstrating not only improved access to primary care but significant return on community investment.
For these grants, the Health Foundation considered projects that would:
- reduce preventable emergency room encounters and hospitalizations
- explore multi-share and other coverage models across the region
- build community health outreach programs and a primary care support network for the region
- provide a better-organized and more-streamlined delivery of donated
physician care - develop the data management infrastructure and patient registry for the regional primary care system.
“These grants will provide the breakthrough opportunities for our regional primary care providers, hospitals, social service providers, and other stakeholders to move towards integrated planning and implementation that will lead us to 100 percent access,” said Warren. “The exciting part of these grants is that all require collaboration among each of the stakeholders.”
The six grants were awarded to:
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce: $334,100. This two-year grant will help reduce the number of unnecessary emergency room visits through the Chamber’s Workforce Development Collaborative. Established in 1997, the Collaborative's mission is to combat work force shortages and is a partnership between the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, Northern Kentucky Tri- County Economic Development Commission, and the Education Alliance of Northern Kentucky. Two Northern Kentucky hospital systems, St. Luke East and West and St. Elizabeth Medical Center North and South, have identified a need to reduce the number of patients that come to their emergency rooms with illnesses and injuries that could be treated in a primary care environment. The two hospital systems propose to partner with HealthPoint Family Care to develop and implement a Medical Navigator Intervention project that will connect the frequent users of the emergency room with a primary care provider. For more information, contact Nancy Spivey, 859.578.6387
Mercy Health Partners: $168,900. This one-year grant will help Mercy Health Partners expand its Health Partnership Program, which offers primary care services for low-income people who do not have a regular source of primary care and prescription benefits. Mercy Health Partners will connect patients with medical homes at community health centers and expand the program to the Mercy Hospital Fairfield facility. For more information contact Martha McCarthy, 513.981.6600.
Healthy Moms and Healthy Babes: $99,900. This one-year grant will help Healthy Moms and Healthy Babes lead a coalition to develop a regional Community Health Worker (CHW) program. CHW’s connect high risk populations, such as the poor or uninsured, to a medical home where consistent healthcare and education can be provided. A CHW becomes an integral part of the community they serve. Regional CHW programs have demonstrated the ability to create linkages to healthcare systems for at-risk populations. A similar program currently operates in Richland and Franklin Counties in Ohio. For more information, contact Kathleen Brogle, 513.591.5600.
Cincinnati Health Department: $97,300. This nine-month grant will allow the Cincinnati Health Department, in partnership with Cincinnati’s community health centers and local hospital emergency rooms, to begin planning for an integrated primary care service network for low-income and uninsured Cincinnati residents. After completing an assessment of the current providers, the Health Department and its partners propose to develop a plan to reduce the number of avoidable emergency room visits, improve the service relationships among the organizational collaborators, and develop an information infrastructure among the partners. For more information, contact Dr. Noble Maseru, 513.357.7280.
Legal Aid of Greater Cincinnati: $90,000. This one-year grant will help Legal Aid develop new solutions for the coverage and access issues in southwest Ohio and further develop its in-house advocacy capacity. Legal Aid is exploring two concepts: Ohio Healthy Workers and Medicaid Premium Assistance. Ohio Healthy Workers Program would help small employers and self-employed people who cannot afford private insurance products. Premium Assistance would provide state financial assistance to Medicaid-eligible employees who cannot afford private health insurance offered by their employers. For more information, contact Andrea Zigman, 513.241.9400.
The Academy of Medicine: $53,600. This six-month grant will allow the Academy of Medicine to assess the level of uncompensated care provided by private-practice physicians in Hamilton County and explore the feasibility of implementing the Project Access model, a method to facilitate physicians’ commitments in providing care for uninsured patients. For more information, contact Bruce Haskin, 513.421.7010.
The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati is an independent foundation dedicated to improving the health of the people of the Cincinnati region. The Foundation awards grants to non-profit and governmental organizations for selected health programs and activities in Cincinnati and 20 surrounding counties in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. In 2006, the Health Foundation invested approximately $11.6 million to support local health care programs that address the objectives of the Foundation's four focus areas and general community health.