 Covering Kids and Families Eastern Oregon (CKF Eastern Oregon) was initially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation until 2006. Since that time, CKF Eastern Oregon has been supported through various benefactors such as: the OregonCommunity Foundation, Pacific Source, and the Juan Young Trust. Current funding for this program is provided by the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration. This grant has allowed our Health Outreach Specialists in Union, Wallowa, and Baker Counties to continue their intensive health coverage enrollment and education for three years. We have found that assistance in these complex and arduous enrollment processes is crucial for many Northeast Oregon families.
Purpose of CKF Eastern Oregon:
-
To enroll all eligible individuals and families into Medicaid and other health coverage programs;
-
To assist individuals and families with application and reenrollment processes;
-
To provide health education training and materials to individuals and other local organizations, including free access and training on the ‘What to Do for Health’ series and other educational materials in both English and Spanish at health fairs and various other events;
-
To inform the public and other local organizations of changes in health policy that affect our clients;
-
To inform the public of other local available resources;
-
To coordinate existing coverage programs.
Outcomes:
- CKF Eastern Oregon is currently developing a comprehensive, evidence-based data management system to measure the effectiveness of outreach and enrollment efforts in connecting clients to health care services and ultimately, in understanding its impact on improving accessing health care.
 CKF Eastern Oregon has been able to provide outreach and enrollment services to nearly all eligible school children in Union, Wallowa, and Baker Counties.
- CKF Eastern Oregon Health Outreach Specialists spend an average of two hours filling out paperwork with each family that they enroll. This program is able to provide services to an average of 60 families per month.
- CKF Eastern Oregon Health Outreach Specialists have partnered with the Oregon Dental School to recruit patients for “ODS For A Day” trips, including free travel and lunch for Head Start children and parents, and senior citizens to come from Wallowa and Baker Counties to ODS for free dental screenings and cleanings.
Children’s Intervention Expansion Project will be targeted specifically to our vulnerable population of rural children--especially Latino children and children with high risk public health needs (asthma, oral health needs, mental health needs, type II diabetes). Activities of the program will be coalition expansion to include members of target groups, an assessment of barriers to enrollment, social marketing programs targeted at barriers, development of culturally competent outreach activities focused on target sub groups, and an expansion of our current database and IT structure to include outreach effectiveness and re-enrollment tracking components.
Goals for Children’s Intervention Expansion Project are as follows:
- Increase access to care and connection to care for Latino children;
- Increase access to care and connection to care for children with issues of public health significance;
- Change public perception of OHP/CHIP program from “welfare” to more acceptable “help for hardworking families”;
- Achieve continuous uninterrupted coverage for enrolled children;
- Determine effectiveness of different outreach interventions and efficiently track re-enrollment status, needs and follow-up.
 Primary Care Home Project
The Primary Care Home Project will allow NEON to expand the current CKF Eastern Oregon Program by connecting CKF clients successfully enrolled in coverage with an ongoing source of primary care. The current CKF program utilizes the following pathway to assist families:
- Outreach to the community and individuals and families in need.
- Contact individuals and families in need for 1 on 1 assistance.
- Screen individuals and families for their needs and potential resources.
- Match individuals and families to existing health care resources for which they are eligible.
- Assist individuals and families through a variety of program enrollment processes. This includes follow up contacts and case management to ensure continuation of health coverage and reenrollment.
The Primary Care Home Project will allow CKF to add the following two activities into the pathway:
- Assist individuals and families in becoming connected to primary care, including referrals to providers and case management to ensure that the clients actually make it to the necessary appointments.
- Facilitate individuals and families in establishing an ongoing relationship with a Primary Care Home, including education on how to communicate with their provider, how to advocate for oneself in a health care setting, how to ask questions, educate oneself, and understand information provided by the provider.
While these activities will be offered to all CKF Eastern Oregon clients, the outreach workers will particularly focus on clients of all ages with chronic illnesses, as connection to a Primary Care Home is especially crucial for long term management of chronic illness. Assuring coverage is not enough on its own to increase access to care. The crucial step is ensuring that clients with coverage actually connect to a primary care provider and become a wise partner in their treatment team. The Primary Care Home Project supports NEON’s overall access goal by assisting CKF Eastern Oregon clients in making this important link.
Sustainability:
Recognizing the value this project provides in covering individuals and reducing uncompensated care, we have received the generous support of St. Elizabeth Health Services and Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness in donating office spaces for our Baker and Wallowa County Health Outreach Specialists.
NEON is able to administer the invaluable service that the CKF Eastern Oregon provides to every eligible family in Northeast Oregon with an annual budget of approximately $65,000, less than $6000/month. It is our hope that, through careful measurement of return on investment in reducing uncompensated care, and through development of effective partnerships within the communities we serve, that this particular program will gain continued support from our community to provide these needed services into the future.
|
