Expanding Access to the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP): A collaborative outreach initiative between Multnomah County Health Department and Multnomah Education Service District

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

3185.0: Monday, November 11, 2002 - Board 7

Abstract #50333

Tricia Tillman, MPH¹, Oona D McNeil, BA¹, Elizabeth Baynes, RN, MSN², and Celia Rendon, BA¹. (1) Multnomah County Health Department, 1120 SW Fifth Avenue; 14th Floor, Portland, OR 97211, (2) Multnomah Education Service District School Health Services, Multnomah Education Service District, 11611 NE Ainsworth Circle, Portland, OR 97220

The goal of this project was to develop an intervention to increase the enrollment of potentially eligible children and families into the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The specific intervention focused on harnessing the ability of school nurses to easily identify eligible children and make referrals to a local health department Medicaid Enrollment Unit. A pilot study involved partnering school nurses to outreach workers, thus facilitating school based Medicaid enrollment efforts. Emphasis was placed on relationship development and a participatory planning process. As a result of the pilot study, more than 60 individuals were enrolled in a Medicaid program; Outreach staff attended more 20 school-sponsored events; and the following school year, the program was expanded from the original eight nurses to the entire Education service district which employs more than eighty-eight nurses and serves six school districts.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will gain the following

1. Increased awareness for the need to identify and enroll eligible children and families in Children's Health Insurance Program through targeted outreach partnerships between local health agencies and schools.
2. Tools and models to increase the number of school staff who prescreen for children's health insurance eligibility.
3. Training, evaluation, referral, and data tracking materials tailored to special needs of school nurses to identify and refer children and families to appropriate agencies.
4. Outcomes and results from a year-long pilot study involving 8 school nurses who were partnered with Outreach Eligibility Specialists.
5. A planned change model that places high importance in the collaboration between the planner and the adopter of change.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Health Insurance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I am employed by Multnomah County Health Department

Adolescent Health Issues

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA