# Presentation: 877281

**Designing and Implementing a Local Evaluation of our HCAP Project**
**January 2004**

## Community Access Project

- The Community Access Project conducted by Rockford Health Council has been funded in part by the the US Department of Health and Human Service, Health Resources and Services Administration and the US Small Business Administration.

## Community Access ProjectGoals :

- Employ Community Health Workers (CHWs) to conduct outreach activities in the tri-county area (Winnebago, Boone and Ogle County, Illinois) to find and enroll people in SCHIP (KidCare/FamilyCare) and Medicaid and to assist in case management.
- Develop and implement a new Three-Share small business health insurance plan.

## Promote and educate the community in utilizing the primary care system.
Develop and implement a new “Three-Share” small business health insurance plan.
Develop a shared information system through a Health Access Network among Medicaid and KidCare providers.
Develop a model to find and enroll those eligible for the Medicaid and KidCare/FamilyCare programs. 

- Develop and implement a new “Three-Share” small business health insurance plan.
- Develop a shared information system through a Health Access Network among Medicaid and KidCare providers.
- Develop a model to find and enroll those eligible for the Medicaid and KidCare/FamilyCare programs.

*Community Access Project Objectives:*

## Who are Community Health Workers?

- Trusted members of the community
- Serve and function as frontline healthcare and social service professionals
- Work with the underserved to bridge the gaps between individuals and health/social service systems
- Come from the community in which they work and share ethnicity, culture, language, and life experiences

## Services Provided

- Completion of Applications
- KidCare/Family Care
- Medicaid
- Food Stamps
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility (MPE)
- All Other Applications as Needed

- Referrals
- Food Pantries
- Primary Care Physicians
- Clinics
- Hospital Financial Aid
- Other Community, Health and Human Service Organizations
- Follow-up and advocacy
- Develop and market “Health Access Plan”

## How are Services Provided

- In-Person
- Direct Mail
- Telephone
- In Client’s Home
- Coordination with a Variety of Community, Health and Human Services Agencies

## Community Outreach

- Back to School Campaign at Walmart
- Community Events
- Drop-in Clinics
- Kidney Screening
- County Fairs
- Ronald McDonald CareMobile
- Government Offices
- Faith Base Community
- Daycares

- Community Centers
- Schools
- Pharmacies
- Doctor’s Offices/Clinics
- Emergency Rooms
- Supermarkets
- Department Stores
- Malls
- Television
- Employment Office
- Businesses

## Deployments

- SwedishAmerican Health System
- Rockford Health Systems
- OSF St. Anthony Medical Center
- Winnebago County School-Linked Health Center
- South Beloit School-Based Health Center
- Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

## Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

- Ronald McDonald House Charities and Rockford Health Systems serves as the link between the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program and neighboring communities
- The Care Mobile provides many children with their first entry into the health care system by eliminating the transportation hurdle
- Began operating in March 2003
- 1 of 12 currently in the world
- A 40 foot - 26,000 pound pediatric clinic on wheels

## Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

- All services provided on board are coordinated by Rockford Health Systems
- Ronald McDonald House Charities provides significant funding to support the Care Mobile
- Host sites are participating communities such as schools, community centers, local health care providers, electric cooperatives and parks

## Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

- _Services offered through the Care Mobile_

- Preventive dental services, such as X-rays, cleaning, fluoride treatments and sealants
- Basic restorative dental services such as fillings, steel crowns and extractions

- Oral hygiene education
- Health Education
- Immunizations
- School Physicals
- Well-child check-ups
- Follow-up care for chronic problems, such as asthma

## Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

- Serves 5 counties in Northern Illinois 4 months per year  and the Children’s Medical Center in Madison, Wisconsin severs 11 counties during 8 months of the year
- The Care Mobile is not intended to replace a doctor or dentist’s office
- Program serves as a starting point for regular dental and healthcare for children who otherwise might not have access

## How have we Measured Program Accomplishments?

- Using the CAP Project Management Matrix
- Designing a “Program Performance Plan”
- Data Collection
- The Self Evaluation Plan – Goals and Objectives
- Selecting and contracting with an Evaluator

## Selecting an Evaluator: Desirable Characteristics

- Prior experience in program evaluation
- Competent at data collection
- Independent and unbiased
- Able to meet deadlines
- Ability to deliver reports twice per year
- Competitive pricing

## Documenting what we have done!!

- Data Collection: For example, 2,624 people were served from 9/1/02-8/31/03
- 1,565 referrals
- 154 Medicaid/MPE assistance through advocacy and/or completion of applications
- 613 KidCare/FamilyCare assistance through completion of application, explaining program, mailing  and application and/or advocacy of submitted application

## Self Evaluation Plan Components: 

- The degree to which culturally diversity is incorporated into the project;
- Success at engaging key stakeholders;
- Effectiveness of consensus based decision-making;
- Documenting contextual factors, such as changes in participants, legislative or funding changes, etc., that impact the project plan;
- Success at sustainability;
- Measuring outcomes detailed in the Project Management Matrix.

## Small Business Health Insurance

- Health Access Plan (HAP) – Three Share Model
- Community based health insurance program designed to extend affordable, basic healthcare coverage to the uninsured workers, and their families, of Winnebago County through a unique premium subsidy plan.
- Designed specifically for small businesses between 3 – 25 employees, whose median incomes are at or below $12 per hour and has not offered health insurance coverage to their employees for the past 12 months.

## Conclusion – Documenting Success

- Community Health Workers are an asset to the community in their efforts to assist the local hospitals in reaching out to educate and  encourage patients to identify a primary care physician.  This effort has helped reduced the utilization of emergency rooms as a primary source of care and has enrolled hundreds of people in a public insurance program since 2001.
- Community Health Workers have also aided in assisting individuals in finding appropriate community agencies in meeting their needs.
- Health Access Plan, our new 3-Share insurance plan, has been designed, approved, and launched.

## Contact Information:

- Raymond Empereur, Executive Director, Rockford Health Council, 1601 Parkview Avenue, Rockford, IL 61107               Phone: 815-395-5701; Fax: 815-395-5706 e-mail: _[rayemp@aol.com](mailto:rayemp@aol.com)__                   website: __[www.rockfordhealth.org](http://www.rockfordhealth.org/)__ _