Funding from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, federal Social Innovation Fund and local entities have aided in the launch of a number of health innovations across the state. This four-year Kentucky Healthy Futures Initiative includes nurse-managed clinics, telemedicine, mobile health services, care navigation and an activities center.
The foundation was one of only 11 organizations in the country to receive a SIF grant in 2010, matching $3 million of foundation resources with $3 million in federal funds to launch KHFI. Grants were awarded to nine Kentucky nonprofit organizations working in low-income and rural communities to improve access to health services, reduce health risks and disparities and to promote health equity. The nine nonprofits selected for funding matched each dollar received.
“This four-year commitment has harnessed more than $9 million in resources to develop the evidence base for effective approaches to prevention and provision of health services in the Commonwealth,” said Susan Zepeda, president/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “These health innovations were successfully launched here in Kentucky because a lot of people came together with their hearts, good ideas, and pocket books. This was a case where everybody had to put some money in the project and work together.”
Projects were undertaken in both urban and rural areas. In Meade County, more than 1,000 children and adults have taken part in exercise, nutrition and after-school programs coordinated by Meade Activities Center.
“This project allowed us to provide space for elementary age kids to meet at least a couple of times a week and work on various aspects of physical activity, nutrition and to just be in a social setting with other kids,” said Aaron Greenwell, the center’s executive director.
Hope Health Clinic in Oldham County is a low-cost, nurse-managed primary care clinic serving several counties. More than 1,500 patients were served in the clinic’s first three years.
In Louisville, Home of the Innocents Open Arms Pediatric Dental Clinic provides training for a new generation of dentists to serve children with special needs, including those who are medically fragile or have autism.
“Funding from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky through the Kentucky Healthy Futures Initiative was critical to helping Home of the Innocents launch dental services for children with special health care needs as a core component of Open Arms Children’s Health,” continued Gordon Brown, president/CEO, Home of the Innocents.
Montgomery Co. Health Department in Mt. Sterling launched the Bridge Program, which is a care coordination/patient navigation project. This initiative uses community health workers and health education tools to help patients manage their health challenges.
“Probably the most important aspect of this service is to help people understand their chronic illness and teach them how to self-manage their condition through behavior change, environmental change, and keeping their regular medical appointments,” concluded Jan Chamness, public health director for Montgomery County Health Department.
Other projects launched through this initiative include:
· St. Elizabeth Healthcare – System-wide emergency telepsychiatry program. Patients with psychiatric issues who present at the ER are now able to access the appropriate specialized care they need. More than 1,700 patients were treated in 2012-13.
· Cumberland Family Medical: Nurse managed center in McCreary County works with universities to train nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The facility has provided care to more than 1,100 patients.
· King’s Daughters Medical Center: Mobile health units provide free cardiac and diabetic screening, plus referral services, in eight Appalachian counties. The program screened approximately 3,700 residents in its first years of operation.
· Kentucky One Health/St. Joseph: Two nurse-managed primary care clinics in Powell and Wolfe Counties are using telemedicine to provide medical specialty assessments and diagnoses. More than 2,000 patients have been treated at the clinics, and the project has recently expanded to serve Bath County.
· Norton Centers for Prevention and Wellness – the Get Healthy Access Program offers urban mobile health screening services and patient navigation to the uninsured in lower-income neighborhoods around Louisville.
From Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky