Centene Foundation Awards Grant to Coalition of Healthcare Providers

The Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare announced today that it has awarded a $30,000 grant to the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers to support a new citywide care management system to reduce unnecessary visits to city emergency departments in Camden, N.J. The Coalition seeks to improve the capacity and accessibility of the healthcare system for vulnerable populations in Camden, N.J.

The Coalition will use the grant to directly support additional psychiatrist, community health worker and nurse case manager staff resources. Patients who are high utilizers of the local hospitals or emergency room will be identified and enrolled in the project using a citywide health database. Upon enrollment, they will be surveyed on their current health status and barriers to care. Patients will receive a variety of interventions, which may include: assistance with selecting a primary care physician or psychiatrist, scheduling appointments with specialists, enrolling in a medical daycare program, applying for long-term disability, and obtaining necessary transportation.

"In 2003, 50% of Camden City’s population used a hospital or emergency room, with one patient coming over 100 times in one year," said Dr. Jeffrey Brenner, a local family physician and board member of the Camden Coalition of Healthcare Providers. "This over-utilization is symptomatic of a fragmented, urban healthcare system with the most complex patients falling through the cracks. With the help of the Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare, we will build a citywide, data-driven approach to helping patients find a medical home and get the care they need."

"Every person should have an established medical home, be actively involved in his or her healthcare and have the ability to routinely seek primary care," said Kathy Bradley-Wells, President, Centene Foundation for Quality Healthcare. "By utilizing a care management system, health providers in Camden have an opportunity to improve the quality, accessibility and coordination of their own services."