Health Care Innovation Awards: Tennessee
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.
INNOVATIVE ONCOLOGY BUSINESS SOLUTIONS, INC.
Project Title: “Community oncology medical homes (COME HOME)”
Geographic Reach: Florida, Georgia, Maine, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
Funding Amount: $19,757,338
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $33,514,877
Summary: Innovative Oncology Business Solutions, Inc., representing 7 community oncology practices across the United States is receiving an award to implement and test a medical home model of care delivery for newly diagnosed or relapsed Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and commercially insured patients with breast, lung, or colorectal cancer. Cancer care is complicated, expensive, and often fragmented, leading to suboptimal outcomes, high cost, and patient dissatisfaction with care. Through comprehensive outpatient oncology care, including patient education, team care, medication management, and 24/7 practice access and inpatient care coordination, the medical home model will improve the timelines and appropriateness of care, reduce unnecessary testing, and reduce avoidable emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
Over a three-year period, Innovative Oncology Business Solutions will fill 115.6 new health care jobs, including positions for training specialists, data analysts, patient care coordinators, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses, as well as for a finance manager and a compliance manager.
LE BONHEUR COMMUNITY HEALTH AND WELL BEING
Project Title: "Le Bonheur's CHAMP Program: Changing High-risk Asthma in Memphis through Partnership"
Geographic Reach: Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee
Funding Amount: $2,896,416
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $4,003,397
Summary: Le Bonheur Community Health and Well Being, a division of Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, in partnership with the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, is receiving an award to implement and test a comprehensive community-based care model to "close the loop" in the continuum of care for pediatric asthma patients in the City of Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. Their CHAMP (Changing High-risk Asthma in Memphis through Partnership) program will 1) create an inter-agency Asthma Collaborative, using care management teams to integrate care, 2) build a Pediatric Asthma Registry to inform evidence-based treatment, and 3) employ health care coordinators (Registered Respiratory Therapists trained as Certified Asthma Educators) and a social worker to enroll patients in the registry, orient caregivers, check home conditions, encourage medication adherence, and make referrals to the City and County Healthy Homes program for home assessments. The program will prevent deaths from pediatric asthma, reduce emergency room visits and avoidable hospitalizations, reduce asthma exacerbations or episodes, and improve patient and family experiences with the health care system.
Over a three-year period, Le Bonheur's program will serve approximately 800 high-risk pediatric asthma patients between the ages of two and18. The program will train an estimated 400 workers and will create nine new jobs. The new workforce will include a social worker, six health care coordinators, an asthma program manager, and a data/office coordinator.
UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
Project Title: "Deep South Cancer Navigation Network (DSCNN)"
Geographic Reach: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee
Funding Amount: $15,007,263
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $49,815,239
Summary: The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center are receiving an award extending a regional network of lay health workers to expand comprehensive cancer care support services through a five state region. Working through the participating UAB Cancer Care Network affiliate sites, these patient navigation teams will improve adherence to care plans and educate cancer survivors on healthy behaviors. The intervention is designed to serve Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with complex or advanced disease and those with psycho-social barriers to appropriate care, many living in medically underserved inner city and rural communities. Each navigation team will include an RN site manager, health system navigators, community navigators, and a community educator. It is expected that the intervention will result in better adherence to evidence based care plans, reduced reliance on hospitals and emergency rooms for care, earlier acceptance of palliative and hospice services, and a better overall quality of life for cancer survivors.
Over a three-year period, UAB's program will train an estimated 150 lay health workers and create an estimated 56 new jobs. The new workforce will include community navigators, system navigators, data entry assistants, administrative assistants, community coordinators, Registered Nurse site managers, training managers, an evaluation and reporting manager, a communications and public relations manager, and an administrative director.
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.
UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER
Project Title: "Project SAFEMED"
Geographic Reach: Tennessee
Funding Amount: $2,977,865
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $3,160,844
Summary: The University of Tennessee Health Science Center, in partnership with Methodist LeBonheur Healthcare's Methodist North Hospital and Methodist South Hospital, QSource, United Healthcare, BlueCross BlueShield and its BlueCare Medicaid plan, Southwest Tennessee Community College, the Tennessee Pharmacists Association, and the Bluff City, Bin Sina, and Memphis Medical Societies, is receiving an award to improve medication adherence and effective medication usage among high-risk patients in the northwest and southwest sections of Memphis, TN. The program will serve vulnerable adults (20-64) and seniors 65+ insured by Medicaid and/or Medicare who have multiple chronic diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, and chronic lung disease, as well as polypharmacy and high-inpatient utilization. Through teams of pharmacists, nurse practitioners, pharmacy technicians, and licensed practical nurse outreach workers based in outpatient centers, the program will work with primary care physicians and local pharmacies to provide comprehensive medication management. This approach will reduce avoidable prescription drug utilization, prevent adverse drug events, reduce resulting patient morbidity and mortality, reduce avoidable hospital admissions, and lower cost. At the same time it will improve medication adherence, disease management, and patient health.
Over a three-year period, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's program will train an estimated 8 workers, while creating an estimated 11 jobs. The new positions will include outreach workers, outreach directors, and pharmacy techs.
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
Project Title: "MyHealth Team: regional team-based and closed-loop control innovation model for ambulatory chronic care delivery"
Geographic Reach: Kentucky, Tennessee
Funding Amount: $18,846,090
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $27,269,705
Summary: Vanderbilt University is receiving an award to improve ambulatory chronic disease management for high-risk, high cost patients with hypertension, congestive heart failure, and diabetes, many of them beneficiaries of Medicare and Medicaid, in 18 rural and urban counties in Tennessee and Kentucky. To improve disease management, Vanderbilt will create inter-professional health care teams and enhanced health information technology (HIT), including disease registries and evidence-based decision support integrated into the clinical workflow. Because an inter-professional staff with access to HIT will improve communication, care planning and monitoring, the health care teams will be better able to respond to patients between office visits, track and follow up acute care episodes, and provide advanced alerts and decision-making support, resulting in improved coordination of outpatient care and reduced hospital admissions and emergency room visits.
Over a three-year period, the Vanderbilt University program will train an estimated 45 workers and will create an estimated 45 jobs. The new workforce will include registered nurses and medical assistants.
VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Project Title: “Reducing hospitalizations in Medicare beneficiaries; a collaboration between acute and post-acute care”
Geographic Reach: Tennessee
Funding Amount: $2,449,241
Estimated 3-Year Savings: $8.7 million
Summary: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in partnership with National HealthCare Corporation, is receiving an award for a program designed to reduce inpatient re-hospitalization by 17% and improve patient experience for approximately 27,000 Medicare and beneficiaries dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid in ten counties in Tennessee, including rural and underserved areas. Their project will offer improved hospital discharge planning, evidence-based interventions, and improved clinical responsiveness at post-acute facilities with estimated savings of approximately $8.7 million. Over the three-year period, Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s program will train an estimated 30 health care workers and create an estimated 4.6 new jobs. These workers will coordinate discharge planning and care transitions for patients and help integrate clinical responsiveness into post-acute care settings.