Improving Health Care for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities within a Federally Qualified Health Center
Organization: The Achievable Foundation
Primary Contact: Ida Diab
Grant Amount: $25,000 for 12 months
Date Awarded:
Date Completed:
Purpose
Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) are particularly dependent on an array of specialized health and social services, yet those services often are fragmented, inadequate and difficult to coordinate. Consequently, these children have a higher incidence of inadequately managed chronic health conditions, and more hospitalizations, lost school days, and emergency room visits compared to other children. Most of these children have health care coverage, but primary care providers often lack the time, experience and resources necessary to provide high-quality care, and rarely practice in settings that integrate or even coordinate the extensive social and behavioral health services that are also required. One community health clinic in California is trying to address these challenges and meet the special needs of the I/DD population. Uniquely, this clinic, which specializes in the care of these patients, is physically co-located with a Regional Center. The Achievable Foundation will develop and disseminate a case study of this unique model of care. The goal of the case study is to develop a resource that can be used to support replication of the successful health clinic/Regional Center co-location model throughout the state.
Outcome
The Achievable Foundation, in partnership with Informing Change, developed a case study of its unique model of a federally-qualified health clinic that is co-located with a Regional Center. The case study will be used to support replication of this health clinic/Regional Center co-location model throughout California.