March 16, 2013 —The Yamhill County Care Organization has selected its first round of applicants for Invest Forward grants designed to improve health care delivery for the Oregon Health Plan members it serves. Applications for a second round of projects are being accepted through early April.
The organization is the Coordinated Care Organization (CCO) for the geographical area of the county. It is an independent non-profit, formed by a coalition of health care and social services providers to manage the physical and mental health services for the county’s Oregon Health Plan members. It was organized as part of the state’s groundbreaking health system transformation legislation, and began serving members in November.
The Invest Forward Program is a key step toward the goals set by state leaders in creating the CCOs.
“We are committed to achieving the goals of Oregon’s health system transformation, and to targeting the “Triple Aim” of better health outcomes, improved experience of care for each member and more effectively controlling costs,” said Jim Carlough, Yamhill CCO’s executive director.
“We want to be able to leverage the innovation that is here in Yamhill County, and to provide the resources to improve the health of the community in new and innovative ways,” he said. “We are encouraging project applications from providers and organizations that can help us improve the coordination and delivery of health care, and are aligned with the goals of the Triple Aim.”
Up to $1 million in total will be available for the grants, with funding coming from Yamhill CCO, its stakeholders, and matching funds from CareOregon.
The four Invest Forward projects Yamhill CCO has approved for funding include:
- Patient Activation Measure — Yamhill CCO will purchase this software tool that allows providers to evaluate a patient's engagement in their own health care, and tools to help them engage. The assessment tool will be available for providers in the county who provide care for Oregon Health Plan members assigned to Yamhill CCO.
- Behaviorists in Primary Care — This project will fund George Fox University training of experienced mental health clinicians who are re-tooling for this model of practice. The behaviorists will be placed in several clinics in the county.
- Community HUB Project — NorthWest Senior & Disability Service will deploy Non-Traditional Health Workers to focus on the most medically fragile members, and ensure access and coordination of care.
- Care Coordinator and Panel Manager — Physicians Medical Center, McMinnville, will hire and train a Care Coordinator and Panel Managers, which are key members of the patient-centered primary care home, also required under state health transformation legislation.
For the second round of Invest Forward projects, applicants may download an application package athttp://www.yamhillcco.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ycco_invest_forward_application_final_3-13.pdf.
Successful applications must meet these criteria:
- The proposed project must align with the Yamhill CCO goals, as represented by the Triple Aim (health outcomes, member experience of care, lower cost) and the CCO Transformation Plan (see Appendix A).
- The applicant organization must be located within the Yamhill CCO service area.
- The project must clearly benefit Yamhill CCO members.
Yamhill CCO prefers to not fund capital projects. And successful applicants must explain how the project will be sustained and spread beyond the initial funding cycle without additional resources from the CCO.
The projects must align with the Yamhill CCO’s transformation plan. Applicants are invited to contact Katie Briedwell for information about the transformation plan.
Applications are due April 8. They will be reviewed and scored by the Yamhill CCO Board or by a designated Invest Forward Review Committee.
For more information about the Invest Forward Project, contact Katie Briedwell, (503)434-7339,[email protected].
