Grant Partners

Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) is leading a newly formed Alliance for Community Health Integration ("the Alliance"), focused on how the health care system could more powerfully impact social determinants of health.  In its inaugural year, the Alliance will implement an aggressive, multi-faceted, multi-year strategy involving significant leadership from numerous organizational partners at the local and state levels.  It will conduct key informant interviews of local grasstops and grassroots leaders that are working to improve social determinants of health at the neighborhood level, to help test and refine the Alliance concept.  The Alliance will also conduct a rigorous policy and political landscape analysis to identify opportune windows over the coming years, and recommendations on framing and community strategies needed for successful campaigns. 

Ecu-Health Care will utilize broadcast and print media to inform residents of health coverage options; provide presentations to community organizations; educate area businesses about health coverage options for employees; and work with physicians’ groups and health and human service organizations to facilitate referrals. Churn will be reduced through education during one-on-one application assistance appointments and health insurance literacy is integrated into a comprehensive packet for applicants.

The Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHW) will promote community health workers’ impact on health access, quality, and equity. MACHW will build out its advocacy agenda focused on promoting the advancement and sustainability of the profession:  improving the community health worker practice, certification, and sustainable financing.

Massachusetts Law Reform Institute’s (MLRI) health care work targets vulnerable populations who face unusual challenges in obtaining and maintaining health insurance coverage and care. MLRI will provide legal advocacy focused on policy and regulation issues in the Commonwealth in defense of low-income and vulnerable populations. One key issue is retaining coverage for those affected by redetermination through detailed critiques and analyses to identify standards and practices that are not in compliance with applicable law.

Urban Edge provides housing supportive services including public benefit enrollment, family budgeting, leadership development, connections to community, and tax preparation services.  The Family Van carries out curbside testing, health coaching, and care referrals to individuals in underserved communities, travelling directly to areas in which the need is greatest, and providing a range of preventive services and an alternative to costly emergency department visits.  Both organizations will partner with Winn Companies to analyze the impact that housing support services have on the health of families most impacted by the social determinants of health, using an Evaluation Framework for Community Health Programs. 

Health Law Advocates (HLA) will ensure universal access to quality health care in Massachusetts, particularly for those at-risk due to factors such as race, gender, disability, age, or geographic location. HLA supports four initiatives: the Health Care Reform Initiative, the Children’s Mental Health Access Project, the Medical Debt Initiative, and the Pro Bono Legal Network Program. HLA will provide individual representation for Massachusetts residents under 300% FPL who have been denied access to health care or have received unaffordable medical bills, public policy advocacy and, where necessary, class-action litigation.

To hire a consultant to incorporate the program's operations into an existing Salesforce database. 

To provide basic adult First Aid/CPR training for volunteers and to purchase first aid and preventative health kits for clients. 

Since 2012, Lahey Health Division of Primary Care and Lahey Health Behavioral Services have collaborated to embed behavioral health clinicians in five community primary care practices, sharing medical records, and using the Collaborative Care Model (CCM), a team decision-making model of care.  Through this grant, Lahey Health Behavioral Services proposes a multi-faceted, multi-site expansion of its integrated CCM approach, by adding two community primary care practices (Gloucester and Beverly); introducing CCM in one Lahey Health System obstetrics practice; establishing CCM in one Lahey Health System pediatrics practice; piloting reverse integration at the Lahey Health Behavioral Services community mental health center in Salem; and expanding screenings of primary care patients across all of these sites to identify higher-risk patients and track outcomes.  Lahey Health Behavioral Services will also use tele-psychiatry to enable consulting psychiatrists to serve more patients, particularly for more rural, isolated sites, such as Gloucester, where there is a lack of access to specialty services.

Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) will launch a media campaign to educate residents about open enrollment and how to receive assistance. It will target churn through development of multilingual materials that inform residents of actions needed to retain insurance through MassHealth or the Connector, distribute enrollment packages, and provide client counseling on redetermination. Finally, it will develop messaging about how to retain appropriate and comprehensive coverage within primary care and health literacy workshops.

With support from the Foundation, EBNHC will focus on expanding behavioral health services for children and adolescents (ages 5 to 21) who are seen in Pediatrics, Family Medicine and the health center’s School-Based Health Center.  In 2014, the Pediatric and Family Medicine Departments served a total of 15,498 patients up to age 21, and the number of child and adolescent patients served continues to increase.  EBNHC's two newly hired child/adolescent psychiatrists will be able to fully treat and manage, and track and measure, the care of children and adolescents with mild to moderately severe depression and anxiety disorder, and integrate this care with a range of medical conditions.  EBNHC has historically only been able to refer pediatric patients with behavioral health issues to community providers where there are challenges associated with long wait times due to psychiatric provider shortages, as well as geographic and linguistic barriers.  Expanding on-site psychiatric capacity also will help to facilitate care planning for patients following psychiatric hospital discharge.

To hire a grant writing consultant.

To hire a Homeless Integration Consultant to enhance and expand programming in their Outpatient Clinic.

To purchase portable carts and laptop tablets.

To support remote access training for its continuing education presentations through purchasing Adobe Connect, Creative Cloud, and polling software, as well as web cameras and headsets.