Saint Joseph London Foundation Announces $1.1 Million Initiative to Assist Patients in Accessing Health and Social Services. - Archived

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Saint Joseph London Foundation Announces $1.1 Million Initiative to
Assist Patients in Accessing Health and Social Services

London, Ky. (September 6, 2017) – The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Catholic Health Initiatives’ Mission & Ministry Fund have awarded $1,124,240 in grant funding to the Saint Joseph Hospital Foundation, in cooperation with the Saint Joseph London Foundation, both part of KentuckyOne Health. The grant will help develop an innovative model for addressing barriers created by social determinants of health, to build and sustain healthy communities. A check presentation was held today at Saint Joseph London to announce the grant, which will run through the end of December 2019.

Social determinants of health - the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live and age - contribute in a significant way to inequities in health status. Understanding and addressing the barriers is essential to providing equitable, effective and high-quality health care.

The grant is part of CHI’s “Total Health Roadmap” initiative. The funding will be used to identify and address the social and environmental issues that affect well-being and health equity by including screening for basic human needs in three primary care physician practices in Berea and London. In addition, three Community Health Workers will be hired, one for each practice, to assist patients identified as having unmet basic human needs. The Community Health Workers will connect patients with the proper community resources for assistance with housing, food security, childcare, behavioral health and transportation.

In addition, the grant will also help fund the development of new services to close gaps in resources that will be determined in collaboration with other community agencies. As an “anchor organization”, KentuckyOne Health will build broad-based community coalitions and establishing and reinforcing ties with existing community partner organizations.  This new care model is eventually expected to expand across Kentucky as well as in communities served by CHI across 17 states.

“With the help of the new screening tool and Community Health Workers, patients will receive the proper help they need to access health and social services in the community,” said Leslie Buddeke Smart, president, Saint Joseph London Foundation. “This will help bridge communication and cultural gaps between underserved patients and clinical staff, resulting in better health outcomes overall.”

Practices selected to participate in this program include KentuckyOne Health Primary Care Associates in Berea, KentuckyOne Health Pediatric Associates in London, and KentuckyOne Health Primary Care Associates (5th Street location) in London.

“This funding will help us improve the overall health of residents in our community,” said Terry Deis, president, Saint Joseph London. “We are thrilled to be able to use this grant to offer our patients a new approach to care that will help eliminate barriers and allow them to focus on their health.”

This grant is part of a larger $5 million project, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CHI’s Mission and Ministry Fund. Similar programs are being implemented in Colorado and Iowa.

For more information, email [email protected].

Photo information (left to right):

Terry Deis (president, Saint Joseph London), Sister Marge Manning (Saint Joseph London Foundation), Scott Webster (chair, Saint Joseph London Foundation), Carmel Jones (vice president of market operations, KentuckyOne Health Medical Group), Leslie Buddeke Smart (president, Saint Joseph London Foundation).

 
About Saint Joseph London Foundation
Saint Joseph London Foundation supports KentuckyOne Health’s drive for excellence by inspiring donors to make a tangible difference through their philanthropic investment in outstanding patient care facilities and services, the education of caregivers, advanced clinical research and improved access to quality medical care.

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health, one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth, includes hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies in Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is dedicated to bringing wellness, healing and hope to all, including the underserved.

 

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