Baltimore City Health Department’s Healthy Corner Stores Program Highlighted by WBAL TV

The Baltimore City Health Department’s Healthy Corner Stores Program, a recipient of CHRC funds in FY2014, was highlighted by WBAL TV on May 9, 2016. The Healthy Corner Stores program aims to prevent childhood obesity in West Baltimore by increasing the availability and sales of healthy foods at the Baltimore corner stores, by promoting the purchase of healthy food by area residents, and by promoting participation of Baltimore youth in after school and other programming to reduce obesity. To view the WBAL segment on the Healthy Corner Stores Program, click here.

The grant to the Baltimore City Health Department is one of three grants awarded by the CHRC to help reduce childhood obesity.  The other grants were awarded to the University of Maryland, Department of Pediatrics and the Somerset County Health Department.  To learn more about the CHRC grants to address childhood obesity, click here.   

The Lower Shore Clinic partners with Peninsula Regional Medical Center to launch the CareWrap program

The Lower Shore Clinic hosted a number of state and local officials on May 25 to celebrate the launch of the CareWrap Program, which is jointly supported by a two-year grant from the Community Health Resources Commission ($105,000) and Peninsula Regional Medical Center ($92,233). Click here for a copy of the news release. 

The public-private partnership will enable the Lower Shore Clinic to support a CareWrap Team that will enroll individuals with chronic health needs, who are frequently admitted or treated in the emergency room at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, into longitudinal support including primary care and ancillary services in the community.  The program will increase access to primary and behavioral health services for individuals with behavioral health and complex medical conditions and is expected to assist Peninsula Regional Medical Center in reducing its readmission rates.  This is the second grant that the Lower Shore Clinic has received from the CHRC. A previous grant, awarded in 2012, enabled Lower Shore to serve 434 individuals, generate more than $3 million in additional program revenue, and achieve a 48.5% reduction in visits to the emergency department for non-urgent care and a 90% preventive care compliance rate for patients with chronic somatic conditions.  The program continues to provide primary care services after the conclusion of the CHRC grant.   Click here for additional information about the Lower Shore Clinic.

The CareWrap Program is modeled after the CareLink Program, which is implemented by Family Services Inc. and targets individuals at a high risk for readmission who have behavioral health needs and/or medical conditions complicated by socio-economic factors.  CareLink involves a partnership with two hospital systems in Montgomery County, and the CHRC provided grant funding to expand the CareLink program to additional sites.    

The CHRC has awarded 11 grants totaling $3.6 million which aim to reduce avoidable ED visits and promote care in the community.  For more information on CHRC grant funded ED diversion programs, click here.

CHRC grantees awarded HRSA Health Infrastructure Investment Program Awards

Earlier this month, Community Clinic Inc. (CCI) and Total Health Care Inc. (Total), two federally qualified health centers, were each awarded $1 million through the federal Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) Health Infrastructure Investment Program. These awards are being made to health centers to build and renovate facilities to serve more patients. For further information about the HRSA Health Infrastructure Investment Program, click here.

Both CCI and Total have received a number of grants from the CHRC in recent years.  These grants have expanded access to primary care services, women’s health and prenatal services, and dental care and have collectively served more than 5,300 patients in Montgomery County and 3,200 patients in Baltimore City.

The CHRC has awarded 27 grants totaling $8.9 million to support federally qualified health centers in 12 jurisdictions.  These programs have collectively served more than 43,000 Marylanders, and many of these programs continue to provide services after the CHRC grant funds were expended.

La Clinica del Pueblo utilizes CHRC grant to open a new primary care facility in Hyattsville

La Clinica del Pueblo, a federally qualified health center, received a three-year grant from the CHRC earlier this year to open a new comprehensive health center in Hyattsville. The center is projected to open in June 2016. The program involves a partnership with Doctors Community Hospital, and the site of the new health center will be adjacent to the Prince George’s Plaza Metro Station. The center will provide a comprehensive list of services including primary care, specialty care, radiology, case management, behavioral health services, insurance assistance, and health education.  

The opening of the new health center in Hyattsville involves a public-private partnership, as La Clinica del Pueblo received additional funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, The Cafritz Foundation, The Meyer Foundation, and The Split Rock Foundation. For more information on the Hyattsville center, click here. 

The Commission has awarded funds to support a number of innovative hospital-community partnerships. To learn more about CHRC support for hospital-community partnerships, click here. The CHRC looks to support programs that are financially sustainable and replicable and released the white paper, “Sustaining Community-Hospital Partnerships to Improve Population Health,” to provide information to current and future grantees and promote further hospital-community partnerships.