Health Care Crisis in Sonoma County, a campus-community initiative and dialogue at SSU

 

A Collaborative Data Project
A Data Project - as Gil takes it an organizational step forward for the next dinner meeting - creating a more sophisticated information gathering process - individual sub-project subject reports combined into overall report to the community (e-mail, website, print, CD) - use in answering important public policy questions, use in health plan operations and renewal negotiations, use in provider reimbursement negotiations - information for the community (perhaps also in report card form) - A participant said: "raise foundation dollars to figure how better to 'do it right' in Sonoma County".

Data Project discussion also targeted funding for the following calculations:
  1. A statewide search for exemplary programs of communities working on their health care crises - model case study examples of what others have done and are doing and planning
  2. Set up community model data/information gathering device - which generates broader information and analysis for the community and the community's health care planners
  3. Develop foundation-funded access to an independent medical actuary's interpretation of enhanced local data findings - to develop into challenges on the line-by-line renewal calculations of the health plans - potentially significant findings and savings
  4. Estimate net calculations for including all Sonoma County residents in a plan for health care service - calculating access for all
  5. Estimate calculations for potential re-assessment of reimbursement rate levels for Sonoma County clinics and small hospitals
  6. Explore costs/savings/values potential through developing a virtual single payor health plan (or plans) model
  7. Since diabetes rates here are 15% higher than state average, study data (and the literature) for priority suggestions for most effective actions
  8. Since the County has a much higher than average percentage of aged residents, increase the focus on healthy living at every age; increase analysis of quality and quantity of service functions
  9. Since more County residents than average in California have a higher than average HIV-AIDS incidence in their communities, consider how to better support the existing model programs.
  10. Explore negotiations to increase stability of primary care community - Explore direct negotiations between purchasers and providers
  11. Could the state and federal governments be convinced to consider re-insuring (or re-re-insuring) potential catastrophic local costs?
  12. Calculate how a homeless clinic can be funded at this point?

A Collaborative Prevention Project

  1. Specific collaboration on reducing childhood obesity - schools, public jurisdictions and their public health departments, families, places of worship, media, providers
  2. How to significantly support development of a "five year wellness campaign" being discussed by the Sonoma Health Alliance and others
  3. How to develop collaboration and consider coordination on certain prevention projects among a number of local organizations, employers, provider groups, media - aimed at mutually reinforcing and synergizing prevention effects
  4. How to significantly support the Children's Health Initiative
  5. Study methods of significantly and inclusively expanding children's dental care access. Support creating Family Action Dental Surgery Center(s)
  6. Find "model" funding to provide Southwest Health Clinic with bi-lingual Interns for "promotora de salud" - utilizing skills of Community Public Health workers after their graduation from the SRJC community health worker certificate program
  7. Develop other efforts to help Southwest erase long waits for an appointment and to increase outreach
  8. Explore efforts to reinstate recently cut outpatient mental health benefits in the County, including travel access
  9. Explore priority health travel access needs and remedies
  10. Please read the prevention section from "What We Can Do Locally - Ideas From the SSU Initiative Conferences", page 1 begins Section I. Items A through I - A number of methods listed and most briefly described.
  11. Environmental impact/toxins perspective needed - Collaborate with existing organizations to acknowledge and plan
  12. New second dinner meeting participants (who went to the Latino health event the same night, Oct. 6th) may have important Latino health conference health care recommendations to share
  13. Support work on "healthy aging" - Study of changing demographics, how to stimulate and support significant increases in elder health - to prepare for senior economic needs and the doubling of percentage over next 10-20 years
  14. How to significantly support "amazing collaboration" going on in the schools
  15. Explore how to get at "a lot of specialized, deep knowledge that isn't shared". Consider stakeholder communication improvement, the Press Democrat, KRCB evening news; widen distribution in everyday ways. What would a better, wider local health and health care stakeholder communication system look like?