Healthy Investment:

How healthcare stakeholders are linking housing and health

IMPACT Planning and Evaluation is pleased to share the result of a recent partnership with the Wisconsin Policy Forum. Funded in part by the Milwaukee Health Care Partnership, the report describes how local health care entities are addressing homelessness and housing insecurity among their patient populations.

IMPACT’s Planning and Evaluation team collaborated on the research by conducting interviews with key informants from local Medicare HMOs, hospital systems, Federally Qualified Health Centers, specialty health providers, and government systems.

In describing the local landscape, the report's findings identify the core elements of these efforts as well as perceived facilitators and barriers to success. As noted across the full report, one of the largest challenges in Milwaukee County is the lack of quality affordable housing and emergency shelter capacity for people in immediate need of housing assistance.

"IMPACT Planning and Evaluation welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with the Forum on this critical research, particularly given IMPACT’s key role in Coordinated Entry and Housing is Health," says program director Lisa Larson, PhD. "We look forward to continuing our partnership to disseminate the report’s findings among local stakeholders."

IMPACT fosters systems change to benefit patients facing housing instability

IMPACT Coordinated Entry and Housing is Health

Housing is Health was created in 2019 by Milwaukee Health Care Partnership member hospitals and clinics in collaboration with IMPACT Coordinated Entry and Milwaukee County Housing Services. The program creates pathways for patients experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, especially those with complex medical and behavioral health needs, to secure sustainable housing and supportive services.

Addressing patients' housing needs improves health outcomes and reduces Emergency Department visits, inpatient stays, and readmissions.

IMPACT Coordinated Entry (CE) social workers, or “navigators,” help patients secure temporary housing, provide case management, and aid in their ultimate transition to permanent housing. Navigators also connect patients with a variety of support services including public benefits; counseling; mental health and substance use disorder treatment; tenancy education; temporary housing subsidies; and employment counseling. The Housing is Health team works with each patient from the time of referral until the individual is considered ‘housing stable,’ a process that can extend over many months. 

"Housing Is Health is the first of what we hope will be many cross-system partnerships that draw community support and deliver a return on investment," says Emily Kenney, IMPACT Director of Systems Change. "At the moment, there are not enough housing resources to meet the need but our model is a viable solution that positions Milwaukee ahead of the curve, nationally."

IMPACT Connect

The Wisconsin Policy Forum's report outlines the unique opportunity and pressing demand for IMPACT Connect, a Community Information Exchange that facilitates cross-sector coordination of care. Stakeholder interviews cited challenges including issues with data tracking and documentation of patient outcomes. As noted on page 28, "The lack of ongoing documentation was seen not only as a barrier to providing continuity and coordinated care, but also as a barrier to effective advocacy, as a dearth of evidence on program effectiveness impedes efforts to push for their expansion and sustainability."

Among their hopes for the future, interviewees identified enhanced coordination and communication among entities and existing programs, reducing duplication, and increasing efficiencies.

IMPACT Connect was designed precisely to address these systemic issues. Learn how.

March is Social Worker Month

Social Workers help individuals, families, and communities build on their strengths to overcome challenges and address larger environmental and structural forces that shape people’s lives and perpetuate disparities. 

“Empowering Social Workers” is the theme of Social Work Month 2024, which is celebrated in the United States throughout the month of March. IMPACT is proud to highlight the value of this profession in our society, and grateful for our dedicated social workers at IMPACT.