HHC - Press Release - HHC Receives $12.8 Million in State Grant to Expand Health IT
Projects Will Improve Care Coordination for New Yorkers with Schizophrenia, Diabetes, and other Chronic Diseases
Sep 16, 2010
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) has been awarded a $10 million health information technology grant to create a medical home model for patients with schizophrenia, and nearly $3 million to support construction and renovation of spaces that allow for more efficient coordination of care for patients with diabetes and other chronic diseases. The funding is being provided by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) through the Health Care Efficiency and Affordability Law of New York (HEAL NY), and the Federal State Health Reform Partnership (F-SHRP).
HHC is proud to be among the few selected providers across New York State who have secured significant grant support for innovative programs that will improve patient care through the use of health information technology. Our record leadership in advanced technology applications and our commitment to building patient-centered medical homes will serve as a model and better position the public hospitals system to adapt to the growing demands of federal healthcare reform, HHC President Alan D. Aviles said.
The $10 million grant will advance the Patient-Centered Medical Home model of care and ensure better coordination between primary care services and behavioral health care for nearly 5,000 patients with schizophrenia within an 11-zip code care coordination zone across Queens, Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. Specifically, HHC will build an information technology infrastructure, based on the public hospitals existing advanced electronic health records system, to allow patient information exchange among five HHC hospitals and health centers and a number of mental health community based providers. This will allow all providers in the care coordination zone who extend services to this target population to have access to clinical information, medication and problem lists, results and referrals. The HHC facilities participating in this project include Elmhurst, Queens and Woodhull Hospitals, Gouverneur Healthcare Services, and Cumberland Diagnostic & Treatment Center.
Patients with schizophrenia often suffer from multiple chronic illnesses, and have numerous interactions with the health care system. This complex patient population will benefit from the broad availability of information provided by multiple service providers who can work together to coordinate their care and improve patient self-management.
Chronic illness experienced by individuals with complex health problems impacts the health and productivity of New Yorkers and drives up health care costs, said State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D. A greater focus on prevention and coordination of care, enhanced by health information technology, will improve health and reduce costs over time.
HHC also received nearly $3 million for two capital projects to assist hospitals in undertaking construction activities and renovations that will reduce excess beds and inpatient services in favor of lower-cost outpatient care more appropriate to patient needs.
A $902,750 grant awarded to Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn will be used to construct a diabetes clinical care suite adjacent to an already existing diabetes resource center, thereby consolidating all care in the same location for that chronic illness. This will enable the hospital to provide comprehensive, integrated care for patients with poorly controlled diabetes. Diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases treated at Kings County. Prevalence of diabetes in the community cared for by Kings is 16% in adults, almost twice the city rate of 9%.
A $1,975,613 grant to Woodhull Hospital Center in Brooklyn will help create a Specialty Care Pavilion for chronic disease management, promising an additional 16,000 outpatient visits annually. The project creates ten new exam rooms for specialty care, new space for clinical support services, a centralized registration area, improved multi-lingual signs providing direction, and a “navigator” to assist patients. Specialty services will include pain management, asthma care, adolescent medicine, dermatology, and surgery. The additional space will allow ultimately for an additional 5,300 specialty visits annually.
According to the State DOH, this funding is targeted to support efficiencies and revenues associated with more streamlined services and aid hospitals that have incurred operating losses as a result of changes in the payment system for Medicaid, the Federal-State health insurance program for low-income adults and children.
Contact : Ian Michaels (HHC) (212) 788-3339
About HHC
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) is a $6.7 billion integrated healthcare delivery system with its own 420,000 member health plan, MetroPlusHealth, and is the largest municipal healthcare organization in the country. HHC serves 1.4 million New Yorkers every year and more than 475,000 are uninsured. HHC provides medical, mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and treatment centers and more than 70 community based clinics. HHC Health and Home Care also provides in-home services for New Yorkers. HHC was the 2008 recipient of the National Quality Forum and The Joint Commission’s John M. Eisenberg Award for Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality. For more information, visit www.nychhc.org/hhc or find us on facebook.com/NYCHealthSystem or twitter.com/NYCHealthSystem.