Grant Partners

Edward M. Kennedy will expand assistance on weekend hours; assist in educating about 13,500 MassHealth patients who will be impacted by changes related to the 1115 waiver and transition to the Accountable Care Organization model; verify the insurance status of current patients days in advance of upcoming appointments; work with insurers to identify members who are up for renewal and provide assistance; formalize an outreach and enrollment network to identify at-risk individuals and refer them to the Outreach/Enrollment team; and partner with community centers and places of worship. 

To purchase computer monitors. 

Bay Cove Human Services (Bay Cove) is the sole provider of emergency behavioral health services for all of Cape Cod, and to the Islands through partnerships with Gosnold and Martha’s Vineyard Community Services. Bay Cove will hire two new clinicians and a Certified Peer Specialist to provide wrap-around care for people with behavioral health needs. Additionally, Bay Cove will expand relationships with public and private entities that encounter people with behavioral health needs to ensure clients’ needs are met appropriately and in a timely fashion. 

Caring Health Center will implement an extensive media and grassroots community outreach campaign to promote enrollment via multilingual television, radio, newspaper, print, social media, and website advertisements; deliver outreach at numerous community events and venues; support MassHealth members impacted by the Accountable Care Organization transition, increasing knowledge and awareness of new coverage options; develop and facilitate multilingual discussion groups to understand health system challenges; and develop facilitators’ guides, educational handouts, and a survey instrument to assess consumers’ understanding of public health insurance availability, policies, and literacy.

Massachusetts Senior Action Council will hire a part-time health justice organizer to assist with Medicaid defense campaigns, deepen issue education and engagement in communities of color, prepare and empower seniors to advocate with policymakers, and amplify media coverage and public discourse about low-income senior health care needs and policy solutions.

Project Bread is a statewide food security organization dedicated to combating hunger and promoting positive health outcomes through access, advocacy, engagement, and education. This initiative will focus on low-income residents in Worcester County, particularly of Southbridge and Webster, and coordinate services for patients of Family Health Center of Worcester (FHCW).  In partnership with the Regional Environmental Council, Health Leads, and the UMass Extension Nutrition Education Program, medical providers at the health center will refer food-insecure clients to an Enrollment Coordinator.  This position will pre-screen families for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, administer enrollment assistance, provide case management, and assist with the re-certification process.  The Coordinator also ensures clients are aware of supplemental food and nutrition resources such as the Healthy Incentive Program; food pantries; the Women, Infants, and Children program; school meals; etc.  The project will address how the social service partners of this team can collect data on food access to share with FHCW, implement a mobile market to offer more healthy produce, and strengthen its nutrition education activities. 

Greater New Bedford Community Health Center will educate patients on practices that will help them obtain and maintain coverage, including an overview of the enrollment process, action steps needed, and key deadlines; set-up a secure drop-box for patients to deposit documentation to expedite the collection and application processes; develop reminder cards that highlight important dates, deadlines, and outstanding documentation; proactively review copies of patients’ notification letters from MassHealth and the Connector to provide targeted assistance for those denied for coverage; and target outreach at self-pay patients, which the health center is seeing at increased rates, to discuss coverage options and assist in the enrollment process.

To provide staff training on the health needs and services for the organization's growing transgender client population. 

To hire a consultant to revamp the organization's website, redesign outreach materials and develop a social media and marketing strategy. 

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center will partner with community organizations; help patients update account information, make payments and understand communications from the MassHealth and the Connector; reach out to patients via phone or mail to ensure they understand changes and take steps to maintain coverage; and work closely with patients through individual education and coaching to address post-enrollment issues like selecting a health plan, choosing a primary care provider, and making payments online.

To hire a grant writer.

Hilltown Community Health Centers will partner with local community organizations; advertise and author articles in local newspapers and on social media; open a new site in Amherst; work with Managed Care Organizations, MassHealth, and the Connector to proactively identify consumers who need to renew their coverage, and provide assistance; work with employers, small businesses, business associations, home care agencies, and other organizations to reach part-time, seasonally, and self-employed people at risk for churn; and develop an advertising and social media campaign informing the public about the important of renewing coverage and open enrollment.

To support the second phase of website development, which will include an online version of the organization's education curriculum and training programs. 

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) will increase the organization’s membership and visibility in communities of color across the Commonwealth, by undertaking a systematic and focused effort to recruit more diverse members and expand its constituency. NAMI Mass will engage targeted outreach to organizations, agencies, churches, and schools in Greater Boston and Framingham, and recruit program facilitators from these communities to deliver its program curriculum.

To hire a consultant to expand the organization's existing FileMaker databse to collect clients' clinical information.