Collaboration To Support Health Care Transformation In Bronx

Published on November 06, 2014, 9:31 am
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SBH Health System (St. Barnabas Hospital) and the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), who are each developing an emerging Performance Provider System (PPS) to participate in the State Medicaid Waiver program, today announced an agreement to have their respective PPS organizations work together to implement health care projects that will improve quality, expand access, lower costs and transform the healthcare delivery system for the people of Bronx.

This agreement will help avoid duplication, create a more complete continuum of care for patients and allow community-based partners in each PPS to focus on the needs of patients and families under a common set of projects, metrics and care models.

With the mission of “Better Health, Better Health Care, Lower Cost,” New York State received federal approval earlier this year to implement a Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) program that will provide funding for public and safety net providers who meet outcome milestones and achieve statewide metrics. The goal of this $6.42 billion allocation to the Medicaid program is to reduce healthcare costs and avoidable hospital use by 25 percent over five years. Both HHC and SBH Health System will be leading an independent network of community providers to create Performing Provider Systems (PPS) and apply for DSRIP funds.

“The whole point of DSRIP is for hospitals, community clinics and other social and health organizations to collaborate in transforming care delivery to make the patients in the communities we serve healthier,” said Len Walsh, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, SBH Health System. “Since many Bronx residents visit multiple facilities to receive care, it makes sense for our two organizations to plan projects together.”

“Although the DSRIP program does not require emerging provider systems to work on the same projects, at our meetings with dozens of local and city-wide providers, as well as patients and policy officials, we heard one message loud and clear: the needs of our communities and patients will be best met with a consistent and coordinated approach to improving the models of care throughout the Bronx,” said Dr. Ross Wilson, HHC Corporate Chief Medical Officer. “Our collaboration with St. Barnabas and other leading emerging provider systems is a common sense strategy to bring more value to the healthcare improvement projects we need to develop for the community we collectively serve.”

SBH Health System is the designated lead applicant for the PPS named Bronx Partners for a Healthy Community, which was founded by SBH, Acacia Network, Institute for Family Health, Montefiore Medical Center, Morris Heights Health Center, Puerto Rican Family Institute, Union Community Health Center and Bronx United IPA and is now comprised of over 140 health care and social service providers.

The HHC-led PPS is comprised of over 150 local and city-wide community-based organizations (CBOs) and community providers across the city. HHC’s PPS includes the public healthcare system’s integrated network of 11 hospitals, 5 nursing homes, dozens of community based health centers, a home care agency and its health insurance plan, MetroPlus. In Bronx, HHC’s PPS includes Lincoln Hospital, Jacobi Hospital, and North Central Bronx Hospital and multiple community partners.

DSRIP requires that each PPS select a number of projects from a list of 44. Each project on the list falls into one of three main categories: system transformation, clinical improvement, and population-wide projects. Projects will be selected based on the results of Community Needs Assessments, a comprehensive analysis of the health care resources currently available in the service area along with the demographics and health needs of the population to be served. Choosing the most appropriate projects for a Performing Provider System to undertake requires a solid understanding of those resources currently available and the needs of the population in the geographic region in which they are functioning. This may range from broad prevention campaigns to targeted chronic disease management programs, and from primary to palliative care.

DSRIP will run through the end of 2019. The present period, which lasts through March 2015, is for planning, assessment and project development. The other years will be for project implementation, performance evaluations and measurement, as well as metric and milestone achievements.

 

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