Strengthening Community Assets through the Integration of Primary Care and Public Health: Examples from the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program

Addressing the needs of vulnerable populations calls for innovative responses to today’s most pressing population health challenges. Increasing evidence supports the connection between individual health and the health of the larger community. This presentation describes the Gulf Region Health Outreach Program (GRHOP), a series of four integrated community-based projects designed to be embedded in and to complement the existing efforts undertaken by the public health community along the Gulf Coast. The GRHOP was developed jointly by BP and the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee as part of the Deepwater Horizon Medical Benefits Class Action Settlement. The program is supervised by the court and is funded with $105 million from the Medical Settlement. The target beneficiaries are residents, especially the uninsured and medically underserved, of 17 coastal counties and parishes in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. The presentation will explore how the GRHOP identifies, addresses, and strengthens existing community assets, while highlighting the program’s unique approach of integrating projects focused on primary care, environmental health, mental and behavioral health, community involvement, and training a cadre of community health workers to help residents navigate the healthcare system and access needed care. The presentation will provide specific examples of how existing local, state, regional, and federal resources are being leveraged to forge partnerships and establish activities that are intended to produce sustainable benefits within clinical settings, schools, and health departments beyond the program’s funding period.