Senators Adelaide C. Eckardt and James N. Mathias, Jr. and Delegates Mary Beth Carozza, and Sheree Sample-Hughes joined Lower Shore Clinic and officials from Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) and the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission on May 25, 2016 to present a check award and announce a combined support of $197,233 to Lower Shore Clinic. The ‘public-private’ partnership grant will enable Lower Shore Clinic to support a CareWrap Team designed to enroll individuals with chronic health needs, who are frequently admitted or treated in the emergency department at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, into longitudinal support, including primary care, services in the community.
Lower Shore Clinic (LSC) and Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC) announced in March of this year that they would be collaborating on LSC’s ‘CareWrap’ initiative, which was awarded a two year grant from the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission (CHRC). The $197,233 award will be put to use establishing an outreach team of health professionals, called CareWrap, whose goal will be to enhance access to community based primary and mental health care by targeting people at risk of thirty day re-admission. Thirty day re-admission refers to a patient returning to the hospital within thirty days of discharge, which is an expensive and undesirable outcome for both patient and hospital.
“The Community Health Resources Commission congratulates the Lower Shore Clinic for developing this important program that will provide access to integrated behavioral health and primary care services in the community,” commented Mark Luckner, Executive Director, CHRC. “The CareWrap program is a great example of a public investment driving innovation in the community and leveraging significant private resources.” Since its inception in 2005, the CHRC has awarded 169 grants totaling $55.8 million, supporting programs in every jurisdiction in the state. These programs have collectively served more than 260,000 Marylanders. The initial public funding provided by the CHRC has enabled its grantees to leverage $18.8 million in additional federal and private/local resources.
“We are grateful to receive this grant from the Commission,” commented Richard Bearman, Lower Shore Clinic Director. “This grant will enable LSC to expand our client pool and enhance our partnership with PRMC.” This is the second grant that LSC has received from the CHRC, which initially helped add primary care to LSC’s mental health practice, enabling the Clinic to 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 conditions. CareWrap is modeled after a four year CHRC-supported pilot project pioneered by Family Services, Inc. (FSI). FSI’s stunning results: of 529 patients deemed to be at high risk for re-admission within thirty days, 444, or over 80% did not re-admit.
“CareWrap is another of those absolutely essential pieces to the population health puzzle that we don’t have to invent or reinvent. It’s a proven approach to care that lets us touch some of our most at-risk patients, through one-on-one, face-to-face education and instruction,” added Karen Poisker, PRMC’s Vice President of Population Health. “We know that if we ingrain those good habits associated with properly managing chronic conditions, we can keep people healthier and, as an added benefit, out of our emergency department or hospital.”
The CareWrap team, led by a registered nurse and consisting of two medical assistants and a part-time benefits coordinator, will closely follow newly discharged inpatients who agree to participate. For up to three months, the team will: assist in filling prescriptions, see that discharge instructions are being followed, schedule appointments and ensure they are kept, provide instruction on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and link to social supports, housing, and benefits as eligible. If clients do not have a primary health care provider, they will be offered care at a ‘Bridge Clinic’ for primary and preventive care.
Lower Shore Clinic and PRMC’s collaboration launched on May 16th.
Photo Caption: State and local dignitaries, representatives of the Maryland Community Health Resources Commission and members of Maryland’s Eastern Shore Delegation join representatives of Salisbury’s Lower Shore Clinic and Peninsula Regional Medical Center in accepting a $197,233 award in support of the new CareWrap initiative.
