Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare Awards Grant to Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers
July 03 2007 - 3:34PM
PR Newswire (US)
ST. LOUIS, July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- The Centene Foundation for
Quality Healthcare announced today that it has awarded a $30,000
grant to the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers to support a
new citywide care management system to reduce unnecessary visits to
city emergency departments in Camden, N.J. The Coalition seeks to
improve the capacity and accessibility of the healthcare system for
vulnerable populations in Camden, N.J. The Coalition will use the
grant to directly support additional psychiatrist, community health
worker and nurse case manager staff resources. Patients who are
high utilizers of the local hospitals or emergency room will be
identified and enrolled in the project using a citywide health
database. Upon enrollment, they will be surveyed on their current
health status and barriers to care. Patients will receive a variety
of interventions, which may include: assistance with selecting a
primary care physician or psychiatrist, scheduling appointments
with specialists, enrolling in a medical daycare program, applying
for long-term disability, and obtaining necessary transportation.
"In 2003, 50% of Camden City's population used a hospital or
emergency room, with one patient coming over 100 times in one
year," said Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, a local family physician and board
member of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers. "This
over-utilization is symptomatic of a fragmented, urban healthcare
system with the most complex patients falling through the cracks.
With the help of the Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare, we
will build a citywide, data-driven approach to helping patients
find a medical home and get the care they need." "Every person
should have an established medical home, be actively involved in
his or her healthcare and have the ability to routinely seek
primary care," said Kathy Bradley-Wells, President, Centene
Foundation for Quality Healthcare. "By utilizing a care management
system, health providers in Camden have an opportunity to improve
the quality, accessibility and coordination of their own services."
About The Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers The Camden
Coalition of Healthcare Providers is an organization of nurse
practitioners, physicians, school nurses, office managers, social
workers, and other providers serving residents of Camden, N.J. The
Coalition is a strategic initiative aimed at improving the quality,
capacity, and accessibility of the healthcare system through data
collection and evaluation, community outreach, health provider
education, practice management improvements, and coalition building
among key stakeholders. For additional information, please visit
http://www.camdenhealth.org/. About The Centene Foundation for
Quality Healthcare The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare is
a non-profit private foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of healthcare in the United States. The Foundation serves as a
resource to identify and support innovative approaches to improving
and increasing the quality of and access to healthcare for
low-income individuals and families. This is accomplished through
an inspired philanthropic giving plan that seeks to promote efforts
and activities that identify and address core causes of unequal
access and treatment in healthcare. For additional information,
please visit http://www.centenefoundation.org/. DATASOURCE: The
Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare CONTACT: Robert J.
Schenk, Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Communications of
The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare, +1-314-725-4477 Web
site: http://www.centenefoundation.org/
http://www.camdenhealth.org/
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