Health Care Innovation Awards: Washington
Notes and Disclaimers:
- Projects shown may also be operating in other states (see the Geographic Reach)
- Descriptions and project data (e.g. gross savings estimates, population served, etc.) are 3 year estimates provided by each organization and are based on budget submissions required by the Health Care Innovation Awards application process.
- While all projects are expected to produce cost savings beyond the 3 year grant award, some may not achieve net cost savings until after the initial 3-year period due to start-up-costs, change in care patterns and intervention effect on health status.
INSTITUTE FOR CLINICAL SYSTEMS IMPROVEMENT
Project Title: "Care management of mental and physical co-morbidities: a TripleAim bulls-eye"
Geographic Reach: California, Colorado, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin
Funding Amount: $17,999,635
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $27,693,046
Summary: The Institute for Clinical Systems Improvement (ICSI) of Bloomington, Minnesota is receiving an award to improve care delivery and outcomes for high-risk adult patients with Medicare or Medicaid coverage who have depression plus diabetes or cardiovascular disease. The program will use care managers and health care teams to assess condition severity, monitor care through a computerized registry, provide relapse and exacerbation prevention, intensify or change treatment as warranted, and transition beneficiaries to self-management. The partnering care systems include clinics in ICSI, Mayo Clinic Health System, Kaiser Permanente in Colorado and Southern California, Community Health Plan of Washington, Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative, Michigan Center for Clinical Systems Improvement, and Mount Auburn Cambridge Independent Practice Association with support from HealthPartners Research Foundation and AIMS (Advancing Integrated Mental Health Solutions).
Over a three-year period, ICSI and its partners will train the approximately 80+ care managers needed for this new model.
KITSAP MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
Project Title: “Race to health: coordination, integration, and innovations in care”
Geographic Reach: Washington
Funding Amount: $1,858,437
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $5.8 million
Summary: Kitsap Mental Health Services of Kitsap County, Washington, is receiving an award to integrate care for one thousand severely mentally ill or severely emotionally disturbed adults and children, many of them Medicare, Medicaid, and/or CHIP beneficiaries, with at least one co-morbidity. Research shows that health care for the severely mentally ill /severely emotionally disturbed population is often fragmented, ineffective, and inefficient, resulting in poor health and premature death. By providing integrated behavioral health management and preventive care through primary care physicians, other care providers, and social service organizations, the project is expected to improve beneficiary health and reduce avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations with estimated savings of approximately $5.8 million.
Over the three-year period, Kitsap Mental Health Services’ program will train an estimated 130 health care workers, while generating an estimated 12.5 new jobs, creating a transformed health care workforce cross-trained in behavioral and physical health disciplines.
NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY
Project Title: "Integrating industrial and system engineering (ISE) methods into healthcare improvement"
Geographic Reach: Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington
Funding Amount: $8,000,002
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $60,780,907
Summary: The Healthcare Systems Engineering Institute at Northeastern University is receiving an award to establish a regional system engineering extension center that will embed proven evidence-based industrial and system engineering (ISE) improvement methods into local healthcare organizations, similar to as used in other complex industries. This demonstration project will launch a network of similar centers across the U.S. to significantly improve care, cost, safety, and quality starting first in Massachusetts, expanding to Washington and North Carolina states during the grant period, and continuing thereafter. Engineers and healthcare professionals will be cross trained in applying these methods to important healthcare problems and work together in engineer-clinician project teams, integrating industrial engineers directly into health systems, establishing internship and summer residency programs, and creating trans-disciplinary curricula for engineers, clinicians, and healthcare managers. The overall goal is to measurably demonstrate the clear value of ISE methods and such a regional extension program, expanded nationally, to significantly lower costs, improve access, and achieve better outcomes, leading to better care and higher patient safety.
Over a three-year period, Northeastern University's program will train an estimated 81 workers in healthcare systems engineering methods and create an estimated 10 new jobs to educate students, oversee applied projects, and manage experiential education.
PROSSER PUBLIC HOSPITAL DISTRICT
Project Title: “Prosser Washington Community Paramedics Program”
Geographic Reach: Washington
Funding Amount: $1,470,017
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $1,855,400
Summary: Prosser Public Hospital District, serving a large, rural area in Washington State, is receiving an award for a program through which physicians can send a community paramedic (CP) to visit a patient of concern, providing in-home medical monitoring, follow-ups, basic lab work, and patient education. The area has high rates of obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart attacks/coronary disease, and angina/stroke. Emergency room visits and readmissions are high and preventive care is limited, with poor follow-up care for chronic illnesses and frequent missed appointments. By expanding the role of the emergency medical services, CPs can increase access to primary and preventive care, provide wellness interventions, decrease emergency room utilization, and improve outcomes.
Over a three-year period, Prosser Public Hospital District's program will train an estimated 10 workers including community paramedics, medical information coordinators, RN case managers and medical doctors.
TRUSTEES OF DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
Project Title: “Engaging patients through shared decision making: using patient and family activators to meet the triple aim”
Geographic Reach: California, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington
Funding Amount: $26,172,439
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $63,798,577
Summary: The Trustees of Dartmouth College is receiving an award to collaborate with 15 large health care systems around the country to hire Patient and Family Activators (PFAs). The PFAs will be trained to engage in shared decision making with patients and their families, focusing on preferences and supplying sensitive care choices. PFAs may work with patients at a single decision point or over multiple visits for those with chronic conditions. It is anticipated that this intervention will lead to a reduction in utilization and costs and provide invaluable data on patient engagement processes and effective decision making—leading to new outcomes measures for patient and family engagement in shared decision making.
Over a three-year period, the Trustees of Dartmouth College-sponsored program will train 5,775 health care workers and create 48 positions for patient and family activators.
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER
Project Title: “Leverage innovative care delivery and coordination model: Project ECHO”
Geographic Reach: New Mexico, Washington
Funding Amount: $8,473,809
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $11.1 million
Summary: The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center is receiving an award for its ECHO Project, which will serve areas of New Mexico and Washington. The program is base on eight years of success in New Mexico and two years in Washington State. The intervention will identify 5000 high cost, high-utilization, high-severity patients and uses a team of “primary care intensivists,” specifically trained in care for complex patients with multiple chronic diseases, working in concert with area managed care organizations and care providers, with estimated savings of over $11 million during the funding time frame.
Over the three-year period, the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center’s program will train an estimated 150-300 workers, while creating an estimated 8 new jobs. These workers will help increase primary care physicians’ capacity to treat and manage complex patients.
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
Project Title: "Brookdale Senior Living (BSL) Transitions of Care Program"
Geographic Reach: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
Funding Amount: $7,329,714
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $9,729,702
Summary: The University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC), in partnership with Brookdale Senior Living (BSL), is receiving an award to expand and test the BSL Transitions of Care Program which is based on an evidenced-based assessment tool called Interventions to Reduce Acute Care Transfers (INTERACT) for residents living in independent living, assisted living and dementia specific facilities in Texas and Florida. In addition, community dwelling older adults who receive BSL home health services will be included in the Transitions of Care Program. Over the course of the award the program will expand to other states where BSL communities are located. The program will employ clinical nurse leaders (CNLs) to act as program managers. CNLs will train care transition nurses and other staff on the use of INTERACT and health information technology resources to help them identify, assess, and manage residents' clinical conditions to reduce preventable hospital admissions and readmissions. The goal of the program is to prevent the progress of disease, thereby reducing complications, improving care, and reducing the rate of avoidable hospital admissions for older adults.
Over a three-year period, the University of North Texas Health Science Center's program will train an estimated 10,926 workers and create an estimated 97 jobs for clinical nurse leaders and other health care team members.