NJ Health Care Organizations get $2M in Funding

Washington D.C. - According to Eric Strauss of NJBiz, "A number of health care organizations in New Jersey are receiving an influx of cash, as two initiatives pump more than $2 million into the state to bolster treatment of so-called “vulnerable” populations. First, The Nicholson Foundation announced Tuesday that it is working with nine organizations on a nearly $1 million initiative aimed at bolstering health care innovation.In addition, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded 18 organizations a total of just over $1 million to recognize their achievements in providing care."

The Nicholson Foundation’s project, dubbed the New Jersey Innovation Catalyst Initiative, will help groups serving vulnerable populations improve how they deliver care to their constituents. The initiative will be led by the Center for Care Innovations, a California nonprofit that designs programs that transform the health care safety net, the foundation said in a news release.

Participants in the initiative will receive training on patient-centered design techniques, an approach to care that solves problems while keeping the patient’s needs foremost in mind. It will focus on three areas: improving access to care, increasing patient engagement and addressing social factors in health.

“Across the country, the rate of funding for health care innovation is growing rapidly,” Barbara Kang, senior health care program officer for the foundation, said in a statement. “However, funding for projects to improve care for vulnerable populations has been underrepresented in this upsurge. This initiative will help address this imbalance by injecting energy, renewed excitement and funding to stimulate a culture of health care innovation in New Jersey.”

The nine groups chosen for the initiative after what the foundation called a “robust application process” include:

·         CompleteCare Health Network;

·         Henry J. Austin Health Center;

·         Hospital Alliance of New Jersey;

·         New Jersey Primary Care Association;

·         Newark Beth Israel Medical Center;

·         Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital;

·         St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center;

·         Trinitas Regional Medical Center;

·         Visiting Nurse Association Health Group Inc.

The nine teams involved submitted challenges for which they hope to develop innovative solutions, such as vegetable prescription programs, group care sessions and the use of EMTs and paramedics in continuous contact with high-risk patients.

“If we want to improve outcomes and reduce costs, organizations that care for vulnerable populations must be given the tools to take risks, think differently and be innovative as they seek to improve care delivery,” Joan Randell, chief operating officer of the foundation, said in a prepared statement.

Meanwhile, 18 health centers around the state received a combined $1.021 million in Affordable Care Act grant funding for providing high-quality care to vulnerable populations. They will be able to use the funds to grow their quality improvement systems and infrastructure, as well as improve primary care service delivery, the government said Tuesday in a news release.

“Today’s funding rewards those health centers that are achieving the highest levels of clinical quality performance and improvement,” Jim Macrae, Health Resources and Services Administration acting administrator, said in a prepared statement. “The awards will help health centers continue to provide comprehensive primary care to the nation’s most vulnerable communities.”

The 18 include:

·         AtlantiCare Health Services Inc., $24,832;

·         CAMcare Health Corporation, $77,380;

·         Community Health Care Inc., $53,546;

·         Horizon Health Center Inc., $72,066;

·         Jewish Renaissance Medical Center, $16,591;

·         Lakewood Resource and Referral Center Inc., $127,999;

·         Metropolitan Family Health Network Inc., $15,652;

·         Monmouth Family Health Center, $14,888;

·         Newark Community Health Centers Inc., $103,357;

·         City of Newark, $20,584;

·         North Hudson Community Action Corporation, $174,469;

·         Ocean Health Initiatives Inc., $38,383;

·         Paterson Community Health Center Inc., $42,445;

·         Project Hope, $20,409;

·         Rutgers University, $36,698;

·         Southern Jersey Family Medical Centers Inc., $79,016;

·         Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey Community Health Center, $20,672;

·         Zufall Health Center Inc., $82,919.

Nationwide, more than 1,150 health centers received more than $63.3 million in funding.