This Month We’re Celebrating You, Community Health Workers!
While August’s National Health Center Week brings annual attention to the incredible work of community health centers, it’s only one week… and we, at Yuvo Health, want to keep that celebration going.
Having visited community health centers throughout my childhood, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge how much your services mean to me – and how much they mean to so many community members who otherwise wouldn’t have access to care. Even in the face of seemingly insurmountable challenges, community health workers are on the frontlines every day providing primary care services and everyday kindness to the individuals at their door.
This month, we’re thrilled to share the stories of some of our community health partners and bring attention to the people who are changing lives for the better. While the days may be long, please know that you’re truly making a difference.
We thank you,
Cesar Herrera
In today’s email:
For Nearly 20 Years, Advantage Care Has Offered Neurodiverse Care
Advantage Care Health Center and the Fay J. Lindner Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities (Advantage Care) have served members of the Long Island community for nearly 20 years and specifically those with neurodiversity and developmental challenges who have more complex care needs.
In addition to providing primary care services for adults and children, Advantage Care offers psychology, psychiatry, social work, a full range of dental care offerings, podiatry services, and care navigation support, so patients are connected to the right services at the right time.
“We have an entire department dedicated to making sure people who are eligible for Medicaid can get on a Medicaid Managed Care plan, and helping people navigate the system — particularly those who are dual eligible for Medicare and Medicaid,” said Darci Weissbrot, Director of Operations/Compliance at Advantage Care.
To better serve the community, Advantage Care has embraced remote care, patient-centered medical home (PCMH) recognition, the OpenNotes movement, which promotes greater transparency in healthcare, and value-based care. Advantage Care is also launching a program for remote blood pressure monitoring, which will help patients maintain care in between visits.
“For many of our patients, it takes a lot of special effort and investment to come to the clinic. We want to ensure patients receive comprehensive coordinated care from a health center they trust,” said Mary Ellen Diver, CEO of Advantage Care Health Centers. “We started out twenty years ago with the goal of helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities maximize joy and health in their lives, and it’s become part of our makeup to always do the best we can with what we have.”
Advantage Care has worked on improving their workflows, sharing notes with patients, and building new programs to advance their care delivery and facilitate better outcomes for patients. The team at Advantage Care is nothing short of amazing – and we’re proud to call them a partner. Read more about Advantage Care in this featured profile.
How do you celebrate the small wins at your health center?
3 Questions with Dr. Miriam Vega, CEO of Joseph P. Addabbo Health Center (JPA)
What makes JPA so unique?
We’ve been around for over 30 years serving the local communities in Far Rockaway, Jamaica, Queens, and Red Hook, Brooklyn. We provide primary care services, as well as dental services, OB/GYN services, and behavioral health services. We’re a whole-person-care entity for members of the community and we have, throughout the past three decades, provided services multi-generationally. Many of our patients started with us many, many years ago and now we're seeing their kids as well.
There aren’t many providers in the areas where we serve, so we’re the community center that addresses everything from a headache to depression. We’re addressing a lot of the community-level trauma that many of these communities have experienced throughout the generations. We have been here for 30 years and we're going to be here for 30 more years serving these patients and we won’t stop until we reach health equity.
JPA provides team-based care to patients. Can you explain what that means and why it’s so important?
For us, it means that the primary care provider is also talking to the case manager, the social worker, the mental health therapist, and others surrounding the patient’s care. Together, these individuals are able to consult and talk about the particular patient and make sure that this patient's total needs are met.
We understand that sometimes medical issues, such as obesity or diabetes, are intricately tied with mental health conditions as well, which is why we’ve adopted a team-based approach to care. We want to see the patient holistically, as an individual, and address the different points of care that they need in real-time, as opposed to only addressing the medical condition.
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What changes have you made at JPA since partnering with Yuvo, and what value does this bring to the communities you serve?
We’ve put in various measures to help us enhance improvements in our quality metrics. Some of the improvements have been data tracking. We have also put in new workflows and systems to keep better track of the data and to know when, for example, a well child visit is due for a patient. We now have alert systems in place that remind us and the patient what to do next.
In addition we’ve set up new marketing campaigns to remind patients they may be due for a particular type of screening. We’re also working on improving chart reviews. We’re going over the charts, the notes, making sure that they're complete documentation so we don't miss anything and so and so we can provide the appropriate follow-up as needed.
These are all very important things that can sometimes get lost in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of a clinic when you're trying to see as many patients as possible who are coming in through the door, but improving documentation is a very essential part of patient care. With enough level of specificity in our patient notes, we’re able to get a better understanding of our patient population and what chronic conditions or comorbidities they’re facing, allowing us to create better treatment plans.
“The quality of care at CHCs is the same as – and sometimes better than – the care provided in other healthcare settings, according to studies… CHCs are places where you can go if you have an urgent health issue, need routine care including getting your teeth or vision checked, or want to talk to someone about how to navigate the healthcare system.They provide these services in communities where other providers may be hard to find or nonexistent.”
– Audrey Shelto, President and CEO of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation for Mass Live
Industry Links
Learn where money was allocated in 2022, how community health systems are addressing patients’ financial needs, what unique healthcare models have proven successful, how technology is changing healthcare for the better, and so much more…
AHIP, AMA, and NAACOS have released new guidance around value-based care and payment arrangements. They tackle data infrastructure, participant readiness, technology requirements, financial investments, and more.
Watch this fireside chat featuring Yuvo Health’s Essence Williams, MHA, BSN, CPC, CRC, Head of Risk Adjustment, and learn how your organization can partner with Yuvo Health and Vim in your shift to value-based care. The big takeaway: be prepared to data share.
The Gun Violence Prevention Task Force is taking a public health approach to community safety and offering new strategies for reducing gun violence. In addition to supporting early intervention, housing, and community vitality, among other strategies, the force includes trauma-informed care as part of its focus.
How will this bipartisan legislation support community health organizations? For starters, it would “eliminate the artificial revenue-based distinction that disadvantages rural and safety net providers critical to improving access to care and improving health equity.”
What do you wish people knew about community health work?
In case you missed it…
Here's a can't-miss piece that we spotlighted in our last issue.
Is this model launching in your state? The three-track model is focused on building infrastructure, implementing advanced primary care, and organizing care and partnerships to help providers transition to value–based care and better address socioeconomic barriers to care.