For those who may not be aware, July 1, 2021, North Carolina (NC) launched a large transformation within its Medicaid program, referred to as Medicaid Transformation. Prior to this transformation, Medicaid recipients’ physical and behavioral health needs were handled as separate issues because of “how” and “where” funds were managed. For recipients, this separation often resulted in service dis-cohesion for those with co-morbidities or co-occurring mental and physical health needs. Since 2018, the state has worked to make sure communities were prepared for the recent transition. Although many communities agree this shift to whole-person care is needed, for many, the idea of integrated healthcare is still foreign and, identifying ways to reflect the shift in practice can be challenging.
To mirror what is being done through Medicaid Transformation, Benchmarks’ Center for Quality Integration (CQi) has partnered with Fostering Health NC (FHNC) and Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) at some of our implementation sites across the state. Areas where these partnerships have been established include both Partnering for Excellence (PFE) and Standardized Assessment Protocol (SAP) program sites which both aim to ensure children’s comprehensive needs are met as it relates to trauma. Through the partnerships we are working to ensure our Trauma-intensive Comprehensive Clinical assessment (TiCCA) providers are ramping up their focus on physical health. To do this, updates to the assessment and clinical training encourage clinicians to consider the interplay between a child and family’s physical and mental health needs. Clinicians are also encouraged to reach out to CCNC care managers during their assessment as a regular collateral contact allowing for earlier collaboration between physical and mental health providers and an opportunity to really address whole health.
Additionally, through this partnership, Benchmarks has served as a link between partnering child welfare organizations and FHNC/CCNC to aid in cross-system communication. Years of operating in siloed systems have resulted in missed opportunities and some communication barriers. Sometimes, just being able to sit across the table, (or laptop at this point) from one another can be helpful to understanding your partner’s needs. With years of experience working with county child welfare organizations and partnering with the state, Benchmarks serves as a “translator” helping our child welfare agencies and FHNC/CCNC identify opportunities for communication, data collection, and information sharing.
As we continue to move forward into a system aimed at treating the whole person, it is important to realize such a large transition will be difficult. However, it is important to tackle health integration in bite sized pieces. We at Benchmarks encourage you to:
- Identify shared needs and find opportunities to align services/efforts when applicable,
- Explore opportunities to collaborate on shared needs to improve service delivery and reduce duplication, and
- Eliminate barriers in communication.
Also, we would love to hear what you are doing. Please share with us ways your agency or community has worked towards health integration.
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