Thirteenth Annual Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award
Descriptions and contact information for award recipient, finalists and semi-finalists
Compiled January 2005
Award recipient
Allegany Community Access Program
LaVale, Maryland
The Allegany Community Access Program (CAP) improves access to quality healthcare services for low-income, uninsured adults by coordinating services and decreasing duplication. With a virtual network and universal intake form that determines eligibility, streamlines enrollment, provides referrals and tracks utilization, 5,314 services have been provided since September 2001. The program has reduced inappropriate use of the emergency room by almost 25 percent. Among CAP patients receiving coordinated care for chronic diseases, 83 percent have stabilized or shown improvement in managing their conditions.Allegany Community Access Program continues to identify unique and collaborative solutions that will address the needs of western Maryland’s economically depressed region, including development of a community healthcare plan for the working uninsured.
Contact:
Janice Lindner, R.N.
jlindner@wmhs.com
Nancy Forlifer
nforlifer@wmhs.com
800.224.8688
938 National Highway
LaVale, MD 21502
www.wmhs.com
Finalists
Breast Health and Colon Cancer Prevention
Bristol, CT
In the working-class community of Bristol, CT, many people cope with high insurance deductibles – or no insurance at all. Four years ago, just half of residents age 50 or older had been screened for colon cancer. The number of women getting regular mammograms also hovered around 50 percent – well below the statewide average. Bristol Hospital responded to this situation with outreach efforts to educate the entire community about the importance of screening, as well as free screening and treatment for those unable to afford it. The rate of mammograms for women over 40 has increased to 81 percent – well over the statewide average of 65 percent – while colonoscopies are up 82 percent.
Contact:
Suzanne Onorato, Ph.D.
sonorato@brishosp.chime.org
860.314.6807
842 Clark Avenue
Bristol, CT 06010
www.bristolhospital.org
Carilion Dental Care – Pediatrics
Roanoke, VA
Carilion Dental Care – Pediatrics is a hospital-based program that provides comprehensive dental care to children from low-income families and children with disabilities. The clinic is a partnership between Community Based Health Care Coalition and Carilion Health System serving western Virginia. In Virginia, few dentists accept pediatric patients covered by Medicaid. To address the problem, Roanoke’s Carilion Health System provides rent-free office space for a pediatric dental clinic, employs the dentists and support staff, and absorbs overhead costs such as utilities and housekeeping. In its first three years of operation, the clinic has treated more than 6,000 children and generated substantial savings for taxpayers – since each dollar spent on preventing tooth decay saves four dollars in treatment costs.
Contact:
Tom Adams
tadams@carilion.com
504.981.9582
2017 Jefferson Street, SW
Roanoke, VA 24014
www.carilion.com/pediatrics/html/dental.html
Childhood Asthma Initiative of the Children’s Health Fund
New York, NY
The Childhood Asthma Initiative, founded in 1997, provides comprehensive asthma services to homeless and poor children in the South Bronx area of New York City. The initiative has significantly reduced asthma severity and preventable hospital use among this medically underserved population by incorporating asthma care guideline best practices, education and psychosocial services into primary care. The initiative’s approach to asthma care also includes a significant community education component. Asthma is a leading cause of hospitalization among children – and poor children are six times more likely to suffer from asthma than their better-off counterparts. The Children’s Health Fund set out to change that – through its Childhood Asthma Initiative, in which children receive guidelines-based primary care. Free medications are available to the uninsured, and parents learn to manage their children’s asthma. Emergency room use is down almost 40 percent among the children enrolled.
Contact:
David Krol, M.D.
dkrol@chfund.org
212.535.9400
Gabrielle Schang
gschang@chfund.org
212.535.9203
317 East 64 th Street
New York, NY 10021
www.childrenshealthfund.org
CHIP of Roanoke Valley
Roanoke, VA
CHIP of Roanoke Valley creates access to medical homes and comprehensive systems of care for low-income children from birth to six years. Pediatrician Douglas Pierce developed the program in 1999 in response to intense health problems and sporadic care of the low-income children he saw in his practice. Thirty-five full and part-time employees and 282 volunteers serve the current caseload of 1,093 children. America’s child poverty rate is among the highest in the developed world. In Roanoke City, VA, for example, nearly 25 percent of children live in poverty – putting them at risk of developmental delays and educational failures. CHIP seeks to give poor children a healthy start in life – with a team-based approach in which each child is assigned both a community health nurse and a family case manager. Nurses educate parents about preventive care, screen children for developmental delays, and refer them for health services. Case managers teach parents about child development and appropriate discipline, arrange transportation to appointments, and help families obtain insurance and social services. The model has been replicated around the state.
Contact:
Robin Haldiman
rhaldiman@chip.roacoxmail.com
540.857.6993, ext. 134
1202 Third Street, SW
Roanoke, VA 24016
www.chipofroanokevalley.org
Project Breathe Easy
Columbia, SC
Project Breathe Easy was initiated by Family Connection of S.C. in 1997. The program provides emotional and informational support to parents who have children with asthma. The primary goal of Project Breathe Easy is to provide parent-to-parent support around the child’s asthma to empower the parent to be the child’s best advocate. Project Breathe Easy focuses its outreach on lower-socioeconomic areas. Today, in South Carolina alone, more than 77,000 children suffer from asthma. The only program of its kind in the United States, Project Breathe Easy takes a “grassroots” approach to education. At the heart of the program are “community parents” whose children have asthma: they have learned to manage the condition, they have completed training, and they share their knowledge with other parents. Among children enrolled in Project Breathe Easy, emergency room visits and hospitalization are down 86 percent. Missed school days have declined 82 percent, workdays missed by caregivers are down 90 percent, and the program has been replicated around the state.
Contact:
Connie Ginsberg
connieginsberg@familyconnectionsc.org
803.252.0914
2712 Middleburg Drive, Suite 103B
Columbia, SC 29204
www.familyconnectionsc.org
Semi-finalists
Health Advocacy Program in the Schools, Spectrum Health
Grand Rapids, MI
The school Health Advocacy Program, which began in 1995, is a partnership between Spectrum Health and three school districts. The program’s goal is to increase academic achievement for students whose lack of access to healthcare may affect their ability to succeed in school. Health aides are trained and placed in high-risk schools to provide a variety of school-based health services under the supervision of a registered nurse. In 2003-2004, the program served 12,175 students in 27 schools
Contact:
Mary Kay Kempker-VanDriel
Marykay.vandriel@spectrum-health.org
616.391.1592
100 Michigan Street, NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
www.spectrum-health.org
HEART (Helping Educators Attack Cardiovascular Risks Together), St. Mary’s Medical Center
Huntington, WV
St. Mary’s Medical Center started HEART in June 2001. The program has two primary goals: Prevent the development of cardiovascular disease risk factors among 5,400 children in grades three through five in 40 public elementary schools during a three-year period; and detect and treat cardiovascular risk factors among the same population. HEART covers three counties in southwestern West Virginia.
Contact:
Shari Wiley, RN, FNP
swiley@st-marys.org
304.526.8339
2900 First Avenue
Huntington, WV 25702
www.st-marys.org
Western Colorado HIV Specialty Care Clinic, St. Mary’s Family Medicine
Grand Junction, CO
The Western Colorado HIV Specialty Care Clinic has provided comprehensive primary and specialty HIV care to people living with HIV/AIDS in western Colorado since January 2000. Additional services include mental health care, HIV counseling and testing, case management, education and financial counseling. Nutrition consultations, dental care and substance abuse treatment are available by referral. The program serves any person living with HIV/AIDS in a 22 county region of rural western Colorado.
Contact:
Lucy Graham, RN, MPH
Lucy.graham@stmarygj.org
970.255.1735
1160 Patterson Road
Gand Junction, CO
www.stmarygj.com
Teen Mother and Child Program
Salt Lake City, UT
The Teen Mother and Child Program is the only multi-disciplinary program in the Intermountain West that provides comprehensive healthcare to pregnant and parenting adolescents. The program is located at the University of Utah Health Science Center; it was established in 1980. The Teen Mother and Child Program serves adolescent females and their children.
Contact:
Harriett Gesteland, Development Officer
Harriett.gesteland@hsc.utah.edu
801.581.3729
50 North Medical Drive
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
www.uuhsc.utah.edu
=Health Connections, Youth & Family Services, Inc.
Rapid City, SD
Health Connections is a health-focused case management program that assists high-risk, underserved girls ages 5 to 15 in accessing existing community healthcare services. It also helps the girls and their families learn how to establish a primary care provider and access preventive and urgent care services.
Contact:
Patricia Schulte
yfsgrant@rapidnet.com
605.342.4195
202 East Adams Street
Rapid City, SD 57709
www.youthandfamilyservices.org
Welcome Home Baby
Escondido, CA
Welcome Home Baby is a home visiting program that provides physical and psycho-social assessments to first-time mothers in the underserved community. The program was designed to improve the health, safety and development of all first-born babies through their first year of life. Since October 2001, Welcome Home Baby has provided services to first-time mothers in North San Diego County. The program’s staff of sixteen includes nurses, health educators, a dietitian, a social worker, a lactation consultant and a business manger.
Contact:
Annamarie Martinez, RN
Axm5@pph.org
760.796.6823
www.pph.org
The CenteringPregnancy™ Program, Grady Health System
Atlanta, GA
Since 1999, the CenteringPregnancy Program provides group prenatal care to low-income African-American women receiving prenatal care within the Grady Health System. CenteringPregnancy improves the quality, appropriateness and acceptability of prenatal care by providing the care within the social context of the participating women’s lives. In a group setting, women receive basic prenatal risk assessment, share and gain support from other women and learn skills related to pregnancy, childbirth and parenting.
Contact:
Clarie Westdahl, CNM, MPH
cwestda@emory.edu
404.616.4901
80 Jesse Hill Jr. Drive SE
Atlanta, GA 30303
www.emory.edu
Preventing Child Abuse by Nurturing Adolescent Parents, Greater DuPage MYM
Glen EllynIL
This child abuse prevention program was founded in 1985 to serve DuPage County through education about the realties and responsibilities of teen pregnancy. Long-term assistance is provided to adolescent parents for their development of self-esteem, parenting skills and self-sufficiency. The program’s primary goal is to prevent child abuse. Through the years, programming has expanded to include school-based pregnancy prevention presentations and home visitation for adolescent mothers at risk for child abuse.
Contact:
M. Janet Bornancin
mjbornancin@greaterdupagemym.org
630.790.8433, ext. 266
739 Roosevelt Road
Building 8, Suite 306
Glen Ellyn, IL 60137
www.greaterdupagemym.org
Margaret Hudson Program
Tulsa, OK
The Margaret Hudson Program (MHP) helps young mothers in Tulsa and Broken Arrow , OK , make the difficult transition from childhood to parenthood. The program’s goals are to keep pregnant and parenting teens in school, provide them with vocational training, enhance the health of mothers and children, prevent child abuse, and prevent pregnancy. Nationwide, 50 percent of pregnant teens drop out of school – but more than 70 percent of Margaret Hudson students graduate from high school. One hundred percent of Margaret Hudson babies are immunized – and less than five percent of Margaret Hudson students experience a second pregnancy while they are in the program.
Contact:
Felecia Rowland, Executive Director
RowlaFe@tulsaschools.org
918.746.9212
1515 South 71 st East Avenue
Tulsa, OK 74112
www.margarethudsonprogram.org