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CHOICE ACH: Improving Senior�Healthcare Access in �Rural Environments

September 2024

S. Joyce Heck, MSN, RN, DNP Candidate

Daniel Hannawalt-Morales, MPH

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AGENDA

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1

COMMUNITY HEALTH ORGANIZATION IMPROVING CARE AND EQUITY (CHOICE)

RURAL SENIORS: STATE OF THE POPULATION

4

3

THE I-SHARE PROGRAM

EVOLVING PRACTICES

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COMMUNITY HEALTH ORGANIZATION IMPROVING CARE AND EQUITY �(CHOICE)

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ACCOUNTABLE COMMUNITIES OF HEALTH

“ACHs are independent, regional organizations. They work with their communities on specific health care and social needs-related projects and activities. ACHs play an integral role in Washington’s Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP) efforts. Although MTP is Medicaid-focused, ACHs are working in many ways to improve the health of their communities as a whole.”

(Washington State Health Care Authority, n.d.)

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Public / Private Partnerships

  • Untapped resources of service-learning organizations

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PATHWAYS CARE COORDINATION MODEL

Pathways provide training and tools for CHWs to identify health-related social needs and reduce risk factors influencing those needs.

What is Pathways?

Care Coordination is open to all residents of Washington State that have a health-related social need.

Who is eligible?

CHOICE uses a blended model that includes private, state, and federal funding. This program will soon be funded in part by the Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP 2.0).

How is this funded?

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21 PATHWAYS

Pathways are tools CHWs use to identify and track individually modifiable risk factors.

  • Adult Education
  • Developmental Referral
  • Employment
  • Family Planning
  • Food Security
  • Health Coverage
  • Housing
  • Immunization Referral
  • Learning Modules
  • Medical Home
  • Medical Referral
  • Medical Adherence
  • Medical Reconciliation
  • Medical Screening
  • Mental Health
  • Oral Health
  • Pregnancy
  • Postpartum
  • Social Service Referral
  • Substance Use
  • Transportation

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PRIORITY POPULATIONS

Residents or those living/spending significant time in the CHOICE region in the next six months.

  • Unhoused
  • Low-income individuals or families
  • Seniors (65+ years of age)
  • Tribal members
  • LGBTQ+
  • Youth/Adolescents
  • Migrants and refugees
  • Rural community members
  • People with disabilities
  • People with chronic medical conditions
  • People with behavioral health concerns
  • People with substance use disorder/opioid use disorder
  • People who speak languages other than English
  • Black, Indigenous, or other people of color

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CARE COORDINATION PROGRAM AGENCIES

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RURAL SENIORS: STATE OF THE POPULATION

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SENIORS: �NATIONAL DATA

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INCREASING PROPORTION OF SENIORS

  • 2010 – 2020: 38.6% growth in population

  • 5 times faster growth than other age groups

  • 2nd highest senior growth rate since 1880

(Caplan, 2023)

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INCREASED INCIDENCE OF HEALTH ISSUES

DISABILITIES

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2022p)

(National Prevention Council, 2016)

CHRONIC CONDITIONS

(Parsons et al., 2021)

ACCESS TO

CARE

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RURAL RESIDENTS: �NATIONAL DATA

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MORTALITY TRENDS BY POPULATION SIZE

  • Decrease in overall mortality for all population settings

  • Urban and rural mortality rates widened by 172%

  • 62.3 urban vs. 169.5 rural deaths per 100,000 population (in 2019)

(Cross et al., 2021)

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INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CHRONIC CONDITIONS

HEART DISEASE

1

CANCER

STROKE

LOWER LUNG DISEASE

2

3

4

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], n.d.-a)

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PROVIDER – RESIDENT RATIOS

  • ~1/3 less providers in rural areas for equal population

  • Rural areas account for 61% of national shortages in primary care providers (National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation, 2022)

(National Rural Health Association, n.d.)

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OTHER SUPPORTIVE EVIDENCE

#1 Priority: Increasing access to care

Rural Healthy People 2030

Delaying healthcare utilization can result in the need to access higher acuity services, poor outcomes, and increased associated costs

Research Findings

Increase the use of telehealth to improve access to health services

Healthy People 2030

Increasing the proportion of people with a usual primary care provider

Healthy People 2030

(Rural Health Information Hub, n.d.)

(Callaghan et al., 2023)

(Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.-a)

(Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, n.d.-b)

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REGIONAL DATA

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2021 CRUDE MORTALITY RATE

  • All ages

  • 306 deaths per 100,000 population higher than the nation

  • 736.1 deaths per 100,000 higher than the state

(CDC, n.d.-b – n.d.-d; United States [U.S.] Census Bureau, 2021a – 2021i)

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2012 / 2022 PROPORTION OF SENIORS

  • 2012 Range: 14.4% (Thurston) – 25% (Pacific)

  • 2022 Range: 19.2% (Thurston) – 33.1% (Wahkiakum)

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2012g, 2012i, 2022a – 2022i)

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2022 SENIOR DISABILITY DATA

(U.S. Census Bureau, 2022j – 2022r)

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

ADULTS AGED 65 YEARS AND OLDER LIVING IN THE CHOICE REGION ARE AT RISK FOR POOR HEALTH OUTCOMES DUE TO BARRIERS IN ACCESSING PRIMARY CARE.

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BARRIERS TO SENIOR ACCESS: CHOICE REGION

SYSTEM COMPLEXITY

MOBILITY / PHYSICAL LIMITATIONS

PROVIDER SHORTAGE

BROADBAND LIMITATIONS

TRANSPORTATION

DIGITAL / HEALTH LITERACY LIMITATIONS

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THE I-SHARE PROGRAM

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PROGRAM DETAILS

I-SHARE: ��IMPROVING SENIOR HEALTHCARE ACCESS IN RURAL ENVIRONMENTS

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PURPOSE

Access-related SDoH support

Increased healthcare access

Improved senior health

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COMMUNITY AND CLINICAL PARTNERSHIP

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GENERAL STRATEGY

PHYSICAL ACCESS

DIGITAL ACCESS

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OBJECTIVES

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02

03

04

05

INCREASE NEW SENIOR PATIENTS

DECREASE NO-SHOWS

PROVIDE DIGITAL TRAINING

INCREASE TELEHEALTH APPOINTMENTS

IMPROVE ACCESS TO CARE

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Is the patient 65+ AND assigned to the Winlock, Onalaska, or Toledo clinic?

Yes

Has the patient no-showed an appointment?

Yes

Refer to I-SHARE program

No

Does the patient have a social/digital need that impacts their ability to connect with their care team either in-person or via telehealth?

Yes

Refer to I-SHARE program

No

Refer to Gather or Coastal CAP

No

Does the patient have a social need?

Yes

Refer to Gather or Coastal CAP

No

No need for social service referral

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WORKFLOW

FQHC referral

CHW offers services

SDoH assessment

CHW / Patient create plan

Implement plan

Pre-training survey

Basic digital / telehealth training

Post-training survey

In-person access support

Online access support

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EVOLVING PRACTICES

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EARLY RESULTS

  • 60 days

  • 255 referrals

  • 62 patient contacts

  • 50 event contacts

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MODES OF REFERRAL

FQHC referral

CHW offers services

SDoH assessment

CHW / Patient create plan

Implement plan

Pre-training survey

Basic digital / telehealth training

Post-training survey

In-person access support

Online access support

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OUTREACH

MARKETING MATERIALS

EVENTS

COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIPS

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CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTATION

PARTNER NEEDS AND PRACTICES

UNDERSTANDING CHW MODELS

BUY-IN

TARGET LOCATION

COMMUNICATIONS

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CALL TO ACTION

HEART DISEASE

1

CANCER

STROKE

LOWER LUNG DISEASE

2

3

4

DISABILITIES

CHRONIC CONDITIONS

ACCESS TO

CARE

Rural Residents

Seniors

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QUESTIONS?

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REFERENCES

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