4049.0: Tuesday, November 14, 2000 - 9:00 AM

Abstract #9855

Strategies to foster public/private collaborations: Lessons learned in South Carolina's "Partnerships for Children"

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) in conjunction with physicians from around the state has developed a public/private partnership program with the goal of providing medical homes for all children. Access to a medical home affords families a personal physician who is familiar with the child's medical care needs. The effort is focused on expanding the number of physicians who are willing to provide the medical care for children with Medicaid while the health department compliments that care with core preventive and supportive public health services.

An important component of this endeavor has been the creation of promotional materials that can be used by the local health department torecruit into collaborative partnerships which provide medical homes for children in their communities. The materials include input from satisfied partners who highlight their partnership through testimonies of success! Each partnership has unique attributes that are tailored to the needs of the community, several models have been adapted in many collaborations.

From the inception of the program in 1993, plans were included to evaluate Medicaid claims data for the impact of partnerships on access to care. The evaluation was recently completed with preliminary results pointing toward a decreased incidence of emergency room usage by children enrolled in partnerships and an increased contact with primary care providers. Data analysis will be complete by the date of the conference. Plans are to utilize these results in conjunction with the promotional materials to demonstrate the effectiveness of public/private partnerships to physicians in the state.

Learning Objectives:

During this session, presenters will discuss the following:
1. Strategies developed at the state level to assist local health departments in recruitment of physician partners.
2. Establishment of partnership models to fit the unique meeds of the individual community creating "local solutions to local problems."
3. Highlight benefits of partnerships to clients,physicians, and health departments.
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to :
1. Adapt strategies for collaboration with the private medical community.
2. Identify components of successful public/private collaborations.
3. Ascertain the advantages of integrating public health services with the medical management of the primary care provider.

Keywords: Access to Health Care, Public/Private Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

The 128th Annual Meeting of APHA