Grant Partners

Holyoke Health Center will serve 300 patients at high-risk for preventable hospitalization, re-hospitalization, unnecessary emergency department visits, or adverse drug events due to diabetes. The project will begin with identifying patients with diabetes with an unnecessary emergency room visit and recent hospitalization at Holyoke Medical Center, or eight or more prescriptions for diabetes.  A partnership with the Massachusetts Medicaid program will identify high-cost patients and work to understand how to predict which are amenable to disease management programs, leading to more effective, lower-cost services.

County of Dukes County will provide culturally and linguistically competent enrollment assistance, referrals, and retention services for public insurance and safety net programs, with a focus on the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

The Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHW) will strengthen the professional identity, foster leadership, and promote the integration of community health workers (CHWs) into the health care, public health, and human services workforce. MACHW will continue to organize and empower CHWs to participate in policy and advocacy, conduct direct advocacy to ensure that CHWs are integrated into guidelines for medical homes and accountable care organizations, and will participate in advocacy coalitions and campaigns focused on health care access and payment reform.

Health Care For All (HCFA) will build a movement of empowered people and organizations to create a health care system that is responsive to the needs of all, especially the most vulnerable.  HCFA will continue its advocacy in pursuit of three key objectives: ensuring maximum enrollment in existing coverage programs, preserving and strengthening public program eligibility, and identifying and representing consumer needs within delivery system reforms.

Community Health Connections will provide street outreach and one-on-one application and enrollment assistance to homeless or high risk children and adults, as well as members of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities.

Lynn Community Health Center will initiate the Keep Your Care Project, a pilot study that will test the effectiveness of text messaging as an alternative to postcard and letter reminders. Those reminders are sent via the mail to remind patients to complete their annual redetermination application and submit demographic information changes to maintain their coverage.

The Greater Boston Interfaith Organization will develop and implement a strategic advocacy agenda focused on health care cost containment.  The goals of this effort will be to slow the growth of health care costs and to engage consumer participation in all levels of the cost and quality debate.

The Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) will support collaborative efforts to integrate public health and prevention into health care payment reform discussions.  MPHA is a statewide membership organization that undertakes advocacy, education, coalition-building and organized action to improve the public's health.

Whittier Street Health Center will provide enrollment and redetermination assistance through 'Virtual Enrollment Sites' and make referrals to services at Whittier and partner organizations. A yearly redetermination education campaign will include educational workshops and fliers/brochures based on MassHealth's guidelines.

The Boston Center for Independent Living (BCIL) will support advocacy on behalf of those living with disabilities.  BCIL is a frontline civil rights organization led by people with disabilities that advocates for supports and services that enhance the independence of people with disabilities.

The Disability Policy Consortium (DPC) will unify the voice of disability groups as a leader in the Disability Advocates Advancing our Healthcare Rights (DAAHR) coalition, and focus the work of that coalition on the “dual eligibles” initiative, an effort to improve services for those dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare. DPC will also address barriers to access such as underinsurance and advocate for the needs of those with disabilities who do not meet the federal definition of disabled.

The Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition will develop its organizing framework by engaging a statewide coalition to monitor the continued implementation of health reform and its effect on immigrant communities. The program will promote positive policy change for greater immigrant access to affordable health care and educate communities to advocate for access to health care coverage including defense of the Health Safety Net.

Healthy Lives:  Brookline Community Mental Health Center will serve 200 low-income adults living in Brookline or Boston who present with serious mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, severe anxiety, or PTSD) and at least two chronic medical conditions (including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or COPD).  The health center will engage patients in their care, help them coordinate the services they receive, provide wellness interventions, offer disease management programs, home visits, and individual and group counseling. The intent of the project is to help patients move from passive recipients to active participants in their health care and by doing so, reduce cost and improve quality.