Integra Announces Innovative Social Partnership Collaborations

03/01/2020

The program will fund four pilot projects to test new supports for Medicaid enrollees

March XX, 2020, PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Integra Community Care Network announced a new initiative to address the health-related social needs of Integra’s Medicaid enrollees. The Integra Social Partnerships Innovation Initiative (I-SPII) will support the planning, piloting, and evaluation of community-based projects that aim to improve health outcomes and reduce health care costs for Integra’s vulnerable members. 

“The impact of adverse social determinants of health–which include poverty, racism, homelessness, substance use, interpersonal violence, poor nutrition, and many others–are felt throughout Rhode Island communities,” explained Dr. Joe Diaz, medical director of Integra’s Medicaid Accountable Entity program. “Meaningfully addressing these issues requires partnerships that extend beyond the clinic walls and draw from the strengths, expertise, and strategies of affected communities.”

Integra awarded more than $240,000 to fund four community-based projects in 2020. The initial I-SPII awardees are:

  • Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI), partnering with the RI Builders Association (RIBA)
  • Clinica Esperanza/Hope Clinic (CEHC)
  • House of Hope Community Development Corporation, partnering with the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless (RICH)
  • Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT), partnering with Taft Street Community Garden, the Pawtucket YMCA, Brown Family Medicine, and Groundworks RI

The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative’s program will provide home remediation services to households in Pawtucket and Central Falls that include a person living with asthma. These services will include an initial home visit to identify health and safety hazards followed by home improvements made by skilled subcontractors sourced through the RI Builders Association’s Latino Advisory Board.

“The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative is excited to work with Integra on this groundbreaking partnership, using evidence-based interventions designed to treat the root causes of unhealthy, unsafe homes,”  said Ruth Ann Norton, president and CEO of GHHI. “In working with GHHI and the Rhode Island Builders Association, Integra establishes itself as a national leader among accountable care organizations in addressing the social determinants of health and supporting the long-term success of vulnerable patients and their families.”

Clinica Esperanza will implement the Vida Sana Program (VSP), a program that was developed to engage and educate Spanish-speaking populations on healthy lifestyle behaviors to prevent and treat metabolic syndrome (a condition combining hyperglycemia/insulin resistance, obesity, and dyslipidemia) and related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.

“We are beyond thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking partnership,” said project manager Ambar Delgado.  “We appreciate Integra’s investment in programs like ours that are specifically designed to decrease health disparities in our community and encourage people to live healthier lives.”

House of Hope CDC and RICH will address social determinants of health related to homelessness and housing instability through data matching, needs assessment, capacity building, and a housing pilot that will provide housing and services to Integra members experiencing homelessness.

“By focusing on housing and homelessness through a community health lens, we are able to ensure positive outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness and housing instability,” said Bill Stein, House of Hope’s director of clinical training and workforce development. “We are proud to be a partner in this collaboration and applaud Integra’s understanding of the role that the health care system can play in tackling this complex issue.”

Southside Community Land Trust will anchor a pilot program that will provide Integra patients with local produce sourced through SCLT’s aggregation program and will also include nutrition, exercise, cooking, and gardening education for enrolled members.

“We know that for many people, fresh, healthy, and affordable food is out of reach,” said Margaret DeVos, executive director of SCLT. “We are excited to be part of an initiative that will reduce diet-related disease and develop data that can shape the future of our health systems.”

Funding for the I-SPII program comes from Health System Transformation Project (HSTP) funding made available by the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) Medicaid Accountable Entity program. Integra receives HSTP funding through contracts with its two Medicaid managed care partners, United Healthcare and Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island.

“Integra is committed to the success of the Medicaid AE program, and is convinced that addressing the social determinants of health is critical to improving health and reducing costs,” said John S. Minichiello, president of Integra Community Care Network. “We believe that approaches like I-SPII are the most effective way for health systems to partner with community-based organizations that have the expertise and experience to serve our members’ complex social needs.”

About Integra Community Care Network

Integra represents a new way to provide a better patient experience, better health care, and—most important—better health.

Integra Community Care Network is comprised of Care New England Health System, Rhode Island Primary Care Physicians Corporation, and South County Health. This includes Butler Hospital, Care New England Medical Group, Kent Hospital, Women & Infants Hospital, The Providence Center, VNA of Care New England, South County Hospital, South County Health Medical & Wellness Centers, and South County Home Health.