Charge Of The Right Brigade? Communities, Coverage, And Care For The Uninsured (original) (raw)
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Progress in community health partnerships : research, education, and action, 2017
More than 48% of U.S. children are racial/ethnic minorities, 21% are poor, and 6% are uninsured. It is unclear, however, what methods are most effective for identifying and engaging community partners in study enrollment of these children in high-risk communities. Evaluate a new methodological approach to the screening, identification, and intervention study enrollment of uninsured minority children. We developed, implemented, and evaluated a methodological approach consisting of four components: (1) identify communities with the highest proportions of low-income minority families with uninsured children, (2) hire minority research staff responsible for community engagement and data collection, (3) implement and evaluate a parent mentor (PM) intervention built on community partnerships and which creates jobs, and (4) successfully execute the research by engaging appropriate community partners. PMs were successfully recruited (n = 15) and trained (test scores significantly improved)....
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Despite national calls for insuring all children, families face a host of barriers to enrolling their children in public health insurance programs. Many of these barriers are rooted in the complexity of enrollment processes, in families' relationships with some traditional enrollment assistance sites and in the accessibility and carrying capacity of the limited number of settings where families can receive enrollment assistance. This shortage of enrollment and retention assistance sites results in a significant number of children who, despite eligibility for programs such as Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), remain uninsured. Economic downturns-whether at the local, state or national level-can exacerbate these barriers as demand for public health insurance grows. 1
Building Community While Complying With the Affordable Care Act in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania
Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 2015
Among the many changes to health care and health delivery systems enacted by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ACA), is the requirement that, to maintain their 501(c)(3) status, all nonprofit hospital organizations must conduct a CHNA at least once every 3 years and adopt an implementation strategy to meet the needs identified therein (Section 9001a). The law further stipulates that the CHNA "takes into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospital facil-abstract Problem: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires nonprofit hospitals to conduct community health needs assessments (CHNA) every 3 years. Best practices for CHNAs are still emerging and, along with growing economic pressures, contribute to uncertainty about the short-and long-term costs hospitals will face as a result of the ACA. Purpose: This article describes a community-based partnership coordinated by a nonprofit hospital and a consortium of academic institutions as a model for conducting a CHNA. Key Points: Similar partnerships offer key advantages in complying with the ACA: local academic institutions are existing stakeholders in the community-they possess research expertise and have a vested interested in shaping implementation strategies to improve health; the process of collaborating itself helps to generate community resources, conceive of community health as a shared and iterative enterprise, and mobilize community partners in supporting long-term health priorities. Conclusions: No CHNA is ever perfect, but there are compelling reasons for nonprofit hospitals to seek community-based partnerships, not only because such partnerships comply with the law but, more importantly, because they hold great promise for linking the CHNA process and results to the health realities of local communities, ultimately bolstering community engagement while creating shared health priorities.
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