Healthy Tomorrows Cohort 3: Quarterly Learning Collaborative meeting

Practices and Family Visiting programs participating in the third cohort of Healthy Tomorrows met in August to share their progress in building relationships and improving communication and care coordination, lessons learned and success stories. Sara Remington from the RI Department of Health (RIDOH) shared key measures on each of the family visiting programs that are participating in the program. Great results overall! Here is a look at some of their results:

• 89-96% of enrolled children have had their most recent well-child visit.
• 52-84% of infants under 1 yrs. old are sleeping safely--alone, on their backs, and without soft bedding nor blankets.
• ~ 82% of enrolled children have had a 9-month, 18-month, or 24-month developmental screening.
• Over 85% of babies receive breastmilk at 6 months of age.
• Over 85% of enrolled children have had their most recent well-child visit.
• 100% of primary caregivers have been screened for maternal depression within three months of enrolling in Family Visiting.
• 100% of primary caregivers have been screened for substance use during the enrollment period.

Special thanks to Tufts Health Plan and RIDOH who are funding this important quality improvement initiative.

Breakfast of Champions: Empowering Unpaid Caregivers with ARCHANGELS

CTC-RI hosted its quarterly September Breakfast of Champions Meeting on unpaid caregivers, their role in the workforce and ARCHANGELS. This event brought together a community of dedicated individuals, including business leaders, and healthcare professionals committed to making a difference in the lives of unpaid caregivers who play an essential role in our society, providing unwavering support to their loved ones. However, the intensity of caregiving can impact all aspects of their health, particularly "double duty" caregivers and those in at-risk populations. Speakers included Alexandra Drane, Co-founder and CEO of ARCHANGELS, Rebecca Preve, Executive Director of the Association on Aging in New York, and Bernie McGuiness, Health Care Executive from BMHC. Alexandra offered valuable perspectives on caregiving and its impact, along with Rebecca and Bernie who both shared their experiences working with ARCHANGELS and the direct impact of unpaid caregiving on their workforce. Reactants highlighted partnerships and work being done in RI. The event emphasized the importance of coming together as a community to support unpaid caregivers, recognizing that this endeavor not only promotes social good, but also has a significant impact on an organizations’ employee health and bottom line. Attendees left the event inspired and equipped with knowledge to enhance their roles as primary care providers while promoting wellness for their teams. 

MLPB launches Phase 2 Action Lab

MLPB kicked off Phase 2 of the Health-Related Social Needs Learning and Action Lab series this month. Fifteen Phase I participants (representing older adults and organizations serving that population) were joined by representatives from several RI primary care practices (providers, nurses, medical assistants, social workers, pharmacists and managers). The group will work together toward a goal of improving health-related social needs screening, referring, and problem-solving strategies impacting older adults living in RI.

The program will focus on three key health-related social needs priorities identified during Phase I of the project: Housing, Social Connection/Isolation, and Food Security. The group heard presentations from Phase I participants with key facts about each priority area. Next month’s meeting topic is "Moving from Theory to Practice on Anti-Racism in Healthcare" and will be facilitated by guest speaker, Dr. Baraka Floyd, Stanford University School of Medicine.

Team-Based Care meeting puts spotlight on STIs in Rhode Island

At our August Team-Based Care meeting, CTC-RI was happy to host Philip A. Chan, M.D., M.S. and Erica Hardy, MD, MMSc from the STD/HIV Prevention Training Center of New England. Dr Chan presented recent RI statistics for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, and gave an overview of screening and treatment best practices grounded in his clinical practice at Open Door Health, a Providence-based clinic serving the LGBTQIA+ community. Dr Hardy, practicing at Women and Infants Hospital, followed with a presentation focused on screening and treatment for congenital syphilis and other common STIs in pregnant women. If you missed this training, you can access the presenter’s slides or view a recording of the meeting.

Task Force for Primary Care Provider Workforce Development addresses access crisis

The Task Force for Primary Care Provider Workforce Development met in August. Since March, a consensus of recommendations has been developed to address the looming crisis of a declining primary care workforce. Research indicates that RI will have a deficit of 100 primary care providers by 2030, while the state’s population continues to rise. Task Force recommendations focus on strategies that can make primary care practice more attractive to students in medical, nurse practitioner and physician assistant programs. The Task Force, (including all RI state colleges and universities that train physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants), has been gathering and reviewing data on the adequacy of clinical training sites for students in RI and exploring ideas for building a more robust training program for primary care providers that includes innovative team-based care models. Other recommendations include strengthening loan repayment and tuition reimbursement programs, equitable pay for primary care providers, reducing provider burnout, and strategies that encourage providers to spend their career in RI. The Task Force plans to release a strategic plan by the end of the year. In the interim, the group is making recommendations to our co-conveners (OHIC and Medicaid) in anticipation of the Governor’s budget and will be working to educate legislators on the value of primary care, the current access crisis, and needs for population health.