141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

281337
Integrating health system business and strategic planning with a faith-based network to improve community health

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 4:50 PM - 5:10 PM

Teresa Cutts, Ph.D. , Center of Excellence in Faith and Health, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis, TN
Carol Weidenhoffer, BS , Strategic Planning and Marketing Division, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis, TN
The Memphis Model promotes a comprehensive enhanced focus on building a health system inclusive of all community and congregational assets required to improve health outcomes and eliminate disparity in our area. The Memphis Model is also being leveraged to proactively manage the charitable mission through community engagement, provider collaboration, accountability to identified needs and accessibility of services. The model focuses on the Congregational Health Network (CHN) of over 500 churches, to navigate patients to optimal points of care through health navigators employed by the CHN, who in turn rely on church liaison volunteers for public health outreach. Early outcome data reflect reduced hospital readmissions for patients who are members of the network, half the rate of crude mortality and a decreased per capita cost of $8,705 per person, compared to controls out of network. The presentation shares how the Strategic Planning and Market Research divisions of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare (MLH) worked intentionally with the Center of Excellence in Faith and Health researchers and CHN staff to target high utilizers and decrease inappropriate use of EDs and high charity care write offs in specific under-served zip codes. Blending GIS hotspotting technology first created in Camden with the relational “high touch” navigation of our CHN navigators and liaisons enabled MLH to reach deep into these areas and improve hospital utilization rates, through what we call “participatory hotspotting.” Lessons learned from this effort that could be replicated in other health system will be shared in a presentation and panel discussion format.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Chronic disease management and prevention
Diversity and culture
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs

Learning Objectives:
Describe the basic structure of the Congregational Health Network or CHN: a faith based network of over 500 churches, whose unpaid, trained liaisons work with 10 hospital based navigators to provide community caregiving integrated with traditional clinical care. Share one lesson learned from how staff in different research divisions of a large health system can align their efforts with a community-based researcher and faith based network effort to decrease inappropriate hospital utilization and eliminate disparity. Describe what the authors mean by participatory hotspotting: blending GIS tracking of high utilizers with relational navigation of patients to more appropriate care.

Keywords: Community Health Planning, Geographic Information Systems

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I hold a post-doctoral fellowship in Health Psychology and practiced as a health psychologist. I served as program director for faith-based initiatives with Church Health Center, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Center of Excellence in Faith and Health. Recently, working on program development for Congregational Health Network, Religious Health Assets, and Integrated Health. I am the principal investigator of CDC, Komen and CIGNA grants to improve the health status in an under-served area.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.