Connecting Consumers with Care – 2009 Grant Summaries

The grants range from $20,000 to $25,000 and this year they total $500,000.

African Community Health Initiatives
Collaborators: Whittier Street Health Center, Cambridge Health Alliance, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center, Boston Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital – Chelsea, Dotwell, Lowell Community Health Center, Lynn Community Health Center, Neighborhood Health Plan, Catholic Charities, Irish Immigration Center, Global Africa Independent Network, and the United Nations Association of Greater Boston

Greater Boston Area, Framingham, Brockton, Lynn, Worcester, Cambridge, Somerville, Waltham, Lowell, and Malden
$25,000
Renewed funding supports African Community Health Initiative’s (ACHI) Early Intervention/Community Referral Program, which assesses the health care needs of clients and connects them with health care providers in the organization’s network. ACHI works to break down cultural, geographical, and language barriers among African immigrants. Collaborations have been developed with the Global Independent Africa Network, as well as health service providers, and community-based organizations.

Berkshire Health Systems
Collaborators: Berkshire Community Health Network

Central and Southern Berkshire County
$20,000
Renewed funding supports the Advocacy for Access program, which provides services in the inpatient Substance Abuse and Inpatient Psychiatric units of Berkshire Medical Center, as well as the Berkshire County House of Corrections and the Community Corrections Department. Target populations include rural uninsured working adults, persons for whom Spanish is a primary language, clients requiring assistance with MassHealth disability determinations, persons with substance abuse and behavioral health issues, the homeless, and persons in the community corrections system.

 
Boston Public Health Commission
Collaborators: Viet-AID, MassCOSH, Nuestra Comunidad Development Corporation, Safe Shops Program, Auto Body Shops, Neighborhood Health Plan, and Boston Redevelopment Authority

Dorchester, Roxbury, Hyde Park, Allston-Brighton, and East Boston
$25,000
Renewed funding supports the Mayor’s Health Line Health Care Access Project, which will provide targeted outreach, eligibility screening, system navigation, and post-enrollment assistance to uninsured low-income and immigrant workers and their employers. A special emphasis will be placed on reaching Vietnamese, Black, and Latino populations.

Brockton Neighborhood Health Center
Collaborators: Local churches, career and training centers, schools, the Council on Aging, Mainspring Shelter, the Salvation Army, COPE Center, Catholic Charities, food pantries, Plymouth House of Corrections, WIC, the Cape Verdean Association, and Latin American Health Institute

Greater Brockton
$25,000
Renewed funding supports a bicultural Community Health Worker who will provide group sessions with a focus on disease prevention for both patients and community residents. Community forums with providers and traditional outreach events will be conducted in addition to quarterly group information/education sessions about health care reform, eligibility, and coverage options.

Child Care Resource Center
Collaborators: The Community Learning Center, Early Intervention, WIC, local Community Partnerships for Children and Family Network programs, Community Health Network Area 17, Cambridge Connections, Cambridge Health Alliance, Network Health, and Neighborhood Health Plan

Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Needham, Newton, Somerville, Watertown, Wellesley, and Weston
$20,000
Renewed funding supports The Health Access Project, which will target low-income and moderate-income families, English Language Learners, families and individuals living in subsidized housing, low-wage child care workers, and self-employed Family Child Care providers. Clients will receive health access information, enrollment assistance, and follow-up services. Additionally, the project will educate other community-based service providers, outreach workers, and lay volunteers about health access and resources for individuals and families.

Community Action Committee of Cape Cod & Islands, Inc.
Collaborators: Nantucket Health and Community Services, Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod, Falmouth Service Center, and 50 public schools

Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket
$25,000
Renewed funding supports a full-time Community Health Worker of The HOPE Project, which will provide outreach and enrollment services to low- and moderate-income residents, with a focus on non-English speaking populations and seasonal and immigrant workers. A significant portion of the project’s caseload includes the Aliens with Special Status immigrant population which recently lost Commonwealth Care coverage. The program will also reach out to young adult males ages 19 to 25, small business owners, and the recently unemployed.

 
Community Action of the Franklin, Hampshire, and North Quabbin Regions
Collaborators: Desmond Callahan Community Health Center, Noteworthy North Quabbin radio show, the North Quabbin Community Coalition, and Franklin County Home Care

Athol, Orange, Erving, New Salem, Warwick, Wendell, Phillipston, Petersham, and Royalston
$20,000
Renewed funding will support the Healthy Connections program, which provides culturally competent services to residents of the North Quabbin region. The program engages in community outreach to educate low- and moderate-income residents about health coverage options, enrolls uninsured residents into public insurance programs, educates them about how health plans work, and assists in application renewals and follow-up.

Community Health Center of Franklin County
Collaborators: Franklin County Resource Network, Communities that Care, the North Quabbin Community Coalition, the Youth Roundtable, WIC, Head Start, Mohawk Trail Regional School District, Pioneer Valley Regional School District, Franklin County Technical School, Greenfield Community College, the local Board of Health, and Franklin County Action Corporation

The 26 towns of rural Franklin County
$20,000
Funding supports a Care Coordinator who will increase the health center’s capacity to provide outreach and enrollment services to especially complex clients with multiple or exceptional access barriers or psychosocial needs, and in the process will improve the effectiveness of the existing program staff by streamlining their services.

Community Health Programs
Collaborators: Fairview Hospital Emergency Room, Brien Center, Fairview Smoking Cessation Program, the “Health Caravan,” community organizations, institutions, and town governments

South and Central Berkshire County
$20,000
Funding supports the organization’s mobile outreach/enrollment and retention work, which is primarily performed on their mobile outreach van, CHP on Wheels. An Outreach Worker will work in the community to identify uninsured and underserved individuals and connect them with care, including evaluating eligibility for public insurance, enrolling them in insurance, navigating the health care system, and connecting them with a medical home at CHP. Targeted efforts will be directed at low-income, marginalized individuals of all ages, including many working adults ages 19-64.

Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Collaborators: Center for New Americans and Casa Latina

Hampshire County and surrounding communities in Franklin and Hampden Counties
$20,000
Funding supports the Hampshire HealthConnect program, which will maintain the capacity for a five-day schedule of walk-in hours in Northampton and Amherst. Outreach activities will include a community health fair during “Cover the Uninsured Week,” revising and editing promotional and educational materials, and distributing materials through physician offices, local businesses, churches and career centers. Furthermore, the program will improve collaborations with local unemployment offices.

 
County of Dukes County
Collaborators: Dukes County House of Corrections, Community Corrections programs, flu clinics, Board of Health, English as Second Language classes, church groups, and local tax accountants

Dukes County
$20,000
Renewed funding supports The Vineyard Health Care Access Program, which provides the only community-based health access service on Martha’s Vineyard. The target population includes low- to moderate-income residents, including seasonally employed workers, people with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses, and limited English-proficient Brazilian immigrants.

Ecu-Health Care
Collaborators: Area newspapers, broadcast media outlets, local businesses, and the Springfield MassHealth Enrollment Center

Adams, North Adams, Cheshire, Savoy, Florida, Clarksburg, New Ashford, and Williamstown
$25,000
Renewed funding supports the continuation of one-on-one assistance to applicants in enrolling in all forms of publicly subsidized coverage, as well as assistance with eligibility reviews, the enrollment process, and follow-up when difficulties are encountered. The program has established close working relationships with a number of state agencies, as well as area newspapers, broadcast media outlets, and businesses.

Joint Committee for Children’s Health Care in Everett
Collaborators: Action for Boston Community Development, Health Care For All, Cambridge Health Alliance, Hallmark Health, Network Health, Boston Medical Center, Tri-City Action Plan, Everett Public Schools, and the City of Everett

Everett, Chelsea, Revere, Malden, Somerville, and East Boston
$25,000
Renewed funding supports outreach and enrollment initiatives with a particular focus on Latino residents, to increase the number of individuals informed about and enrolled in MassHealth, Commonwealth Care, Commonwealth Choice, and other health insurance plans. A collaborative will also be established with African Community Health Initiatives in order to better reach the African immigrant population. Finally, the organization will publish and distribute an updated edition of their Health Benefits for Children resource directory in multiple languages.

Latino Health Institute
Collaborators: Saint Luke’s Dental Clinic, YMCA and Food Line, Community Action and Team Coordination Agency, and the Lowell Community Health Center

Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, and Methuen
$20,000
Funding will support a bilingual Outreach Specialist at the organization’s Lowell office to increase its capacity to reach, enroll, and retain individuals in health insurance plans. Outreach efforts will include the distribution of materials in community centers, churches, community health fairs, and cultural events, and expand to Latinos and other racial and ethnic minorities residing in low- and moderate-income urban neighborhoods in the Merrimack Valley.

 
Manet Community Health Center
Collaborators: HESSCO, Inc., Serving the Health Information Needs of Elders (SHINE) Program, local community hospitals, career centers, food pantries, houses of worship, temples, neighborhood centers, housing authorities, community action programs, homeless organizations, and human service agencies

Quincy, Hull, Weymouth, Randolph, Milton, Braintree, Cohasset, Rockland, Holbrooke, Scituate, and Marshfield
$20,000
Renewed funding supports the Community Outreach Team, which serves as a resource for health benefits support, advocacy, and education to individuals and families, including the newly unemployed. The team will present to local community hospitals, career centers, food pantries, houses of worship, temples, neighborhood centers, housing authorities, community action programs, homeless organizations, and human service agencies. Quincy in particular is home to the second largest “pocket” of the Aliens with Special Status immigrant population, who are no longer eligible for Commonwealth Care.

Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers
Collaborators: St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Boston Medical Center, Upham’s Corner Health Center, and Bowdoin Street Community Health Center

Greater Boston and Framingham
$20,000
Renewed funding supports the organization’s work with community health care providers to break down barriers to care, and assists their linguistic minority population in accessing health care. The organization will provide education and awareness, community outreach, referrals to health care services, and assistance for individuals and families signing up for MassHealth, Commonwealth Care, and other health insurance programs.

The Mercy Hospital, Inc.
Collaborators: Mental Health Associates, Friends of the Homeless, and St. Paul’s Vietnamese Outreach

Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin Counties
$20,000
Renewed funding supports The Health Care for the Homeless program, which will continue to link homeless and Vietnamese persons to health care services. A case manager will work with clients to access health coverage and related services, including transportation.

Metrowest Legal Services
Collaborators: Department of Transitional Assistance, KidsCare Connection project, and Massachusetts Law Reform Institute

Acton, Ashland, Bedford, Bellingham, Carlisle, Concord, Dedham, Dover, Foxborough, Framingham, Franklin, Holliston, Hopkinton, Hudson, Lexington, Lincoln, Marlborough, Maynard, Medfield, Medway, Millis, Natick, Needham, Norfolk, Norwood, Plainville, Sharon, Sherborn, Stow, Sudbury, Walpole, Wayland, Wellesley, Weston, Westwood, and Wrentham
$25,000
Renewed funding supports The Health Access Project, which assists consumers seeking health coverage from a public program, and provides them with legal advocacy and representation from application through appeal. A Project Paralegal will continue to incorporate medical debt assistance and conduct outreach activities, presentations, mass mailings, and other initiatives, as well as hold monthly office hours at the local office of the Department of Transitional Assistance. The Paralegal will also engage in administrative advocacy with the Connector Authority, the Office of Medicaid, and the Division of Health Care Finance and Policy.

 
Outer Cape Health Services, Inc.

Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, Brewster, Harwich, and Chatham
$20,000
Renewed funding supports the Healthy Connections program, which will assist uninsured and underinsured residents of the Lower and Outer Cape to enroll and re-enroll in health insurance coverage. As the only enrollment agency for individuals and families in these regions of Cape Cod, the organization will assist residents who have seasonal employment, are self-employed, or employed by a small business that does not offer health coverage.

People Acting in Community Endeavors, Inc.
Collaborators: Greater New Bedford Career Center and Rhode Island Hospital

New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Rochester, Mattapoisett, and Marion
$20,000
Renewed funding supports the organization’s outreach, enrollment, and retention program, which is done in collaboration with various media, personal contact, other PACE programs and community agencies, and by targeting low wage earners in particular occupations, including day care providers, CNAs, and food service workers.

Roxbury Comprehensive Community Health Center
Collaborators: WIC Program, Men of Color, Project R.I.G.H.T., Action for Boston Community Development, the Boston Housing Authority, the Family Van, the Harbor School, the Visiting Nurses Association, local businesses, area churches and housing complexes, and other Roxbury Comprehensive outreach programs

Roxbury and North Dorchester
$20,000
Funding supports expanding the organization’s Enrollment, Outreach and Access to Care Project, which targets uninsured and underinsured minority individuals and families. A targeted outreach and education model will be used, incorporating strategies using newspaper ads, posters, flyers, brochures, one-on-one outreach, information tables, community workshops and presentations, and community-wide events.

Stanley Street Treatment & Resources, Inc.
Collaborators: Health care providers, community-based organizations, school departments, Community Health Network Area (CHNA) 25, transitional assistance office, and local unemployment offices

Greater Fall River, including the surrounding towns of Somerset, Swansea, Westport, Assonet, and Freetown
$25,000
Renewed funding supports the Health Access Program, which will expand its efforts to serve newly documented residents in Fall River and its surrounding areas. The project will continue its outreach and enrollment, and assist with accessing primary care physicians and specialty care. Low-income and uninsured individuals and families are the target population, with an emphasis on the growing Brazilian and Hispanic populations.

 
Tapestry Health
Collaborators: Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Women’s Health Network and the Community Health Network Area (CHNA)

Franklin, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Hampden Counties
$20,000
Renewed funding supports the organization’s outreach and enrollment program, which targets uninsured women, men, and families, with an emphasis on people who face issues of poverty, language, homelessness, racism, and social marginalization across the four counties of western Massachusetts. In addition, Tapestry will network with other health and human service agencies to provide education and information and expand their outreach.