HJBR May/Jun 2019

Healthcare Journal of Baton Rouge  I  MAY / JUN 2019 51 Stewart T. Gordon, MD, FAAP Chief Medical Officer, Medical Affairs Louisiana Healthcare Connections Social Determinants of Health Strategy Louisiana Healthcare Connections has applied the state’s assessment data to its efforts to address SDOH. The health plan launched a statewide provider-facing ed- ucational campaign to promote best prac- tices for identifying SDOH factors at the point of care, and created a toolkit to guide providers in the use of Z-codes to docu- ment SDOH. In addition, a data-driven care manage- ment tool was developed to empower the health plan’s care management team to identify barriers to care, connect members to the community-level resources to over- come those barriers, and track successful engagement. Further, an internal educational pro- gram called COPE was implemented to ensure that all employees at all levels un- derstand the obstacles faced by individu- als and families who live at or below the poverty level. Developed by Think Tank and the CareSource Foundation, the COPE training is an experiential event designed to prepare participants to work more ef- fectively with low-income families by bet- ter understanding the issues of poverty. “Going through the COPE training was a transformative experience that gave us a much deeper understanding of the complex challenges faced by many of the families we serve,” says Louisiana Health- care Connections Chief Operating Officer Kendra Case. “By experiencing those chal- lenges ourselves, we can better help our members overcome those barriers.” Population Health Partners Driving improvements in health in Lou- isiana requires a coordinated approach across partnering organizations. By com- bining efforts, community leaders, busi- ness organizations, payers, and healthcare providers can build vibrant, healthy com- munities across the state. In doing so, Lou- isiana will truly set the bar for population health management. n Training: Crystal Braswell, Project Coordinator, left, provides instructions to John Kight, Senior Vice President of Population Health Strategies, and Kendra Case, Chief Operating Officer, during a COPE Training session at Louisiana Healthcare Connections in December. The experiential training prepares participants to work more effectively with low-income families by better understanding the issues of poverty. COPE Baton Rouge Free Clinic: Hundreds of Louisiana residents line up in the early morning hours of March 16, 2019, to receive free dental, vision, and health services at the Baton Rouge Free Clinic. The clinic provided services to nearly 1,000 individuals over a two-day span through the efforts of more than 600 volunteers.