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REACH Denise C. Daly, Executive Director WHO WE ARE REACH, (Richmond Enhancing Access to Community Healthcare) is a catalyst for better access to healthcare, facilitating collaborative efforts to address gaps in healthcare services in the Greater Metropolitan Richmond, Virginia area. A non-profit organization, REACH’s core partners include nine local safety net providers (one federally qualified health center, one health care for the homeless site, three free health clinics, one community health center, the city homeless respite, the city public health department, and an academic medical center). Through REACH, Richmond, Virginia-area safety net providers and others are developing a network of integrated, coordinated care for Richmond’s uninsured and under-insured. REACH staff includes a director, two program coordinators, three Community Health Advocates and administrative support staff. HOW WE BEGAN Recognizing the need to join forces to address systemic problems affecting the safety net, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System, Richmond City Department of Public Health and community-based health centers began meeting in 2000 to discuss how gaps in healthcare services for uninsured and underinsured persons could be minimized. REACH, which formed as a result of these conversations, promotes collaboration to increase access to a comprehensive continuum of quality healthcare services and strengthen the healthcare delivery system in the Richmond metro area. REACH leadership includes a representative from Vernon J. Harris Health Center; North District Community Health Clinic; Cross Over Ministry; Fan Free Clinic; Daily Planet Health Care for the Homeless; Richmond City Department of Public Health; Irvin Gammon Craig Health Center; Greater Richmond Homeless Respite; and, VCU Health System. With Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as the lead consortium agency, REACH has operated for three years with Federal Healthy Communities Access Program (HCAP) funds. WHAT WE DO REACH serves as a neutral convening body leading multi-disciplinary, multi-agency task forces which jointly determine how to best align and allocate current resources to more efficiently serve metro Richmond’s uninsured. Through informal needs assessments involving nearly 200 community members, REACH focuses on four target initiatives: access to affordable prescription drugs, perinatal care and behavioral health services, and advocacy and education. These collaborative initiatives, in the form of task forces, leverage resources for systems change to improve healthcare and strengthen the safety net. REACH provides staff support, data and best practice resources to task forces. Partners are committed to connecting current community resources to meet needs – creating new programs, or program components, only when necessary. Current task force membership includes representatives from 80 health and human service providers, including health systems and health centers. With increasing frequency, REACH serves as a resource for data and information on – the effect of and issues related to – access to affordable healthcare and effective community-health programs for health systems, university faculty, state agencies, media, students, foundations, health centers, and others. REACH serves as an information and referral source for families and community-based human service agencies in search of affordable healthcare, providing direct services to uninsured families in the Richmond area. Three staff members (Community Health Advocates) assist individuals and families in fining affordable health care through public programs (Virginia’s S-CHIP), community-based health centers, and the academic medical center’s indigent care program. Finally, REACH staff are active in a variety of community and state-wide initiatives to improve access to healthcare, including Smart Smiles (oral health program for Boys and Girls Clubs participants), RxPartnership (statewide prescription assistance program) and Virginia’s State Planning Grant. OUR RESULTS In Richmond, REACH has become known for its neutrality in bringing together disparate groups to address common concerns. Significant outcomes include:
REACH and its partners developed MORE Access, a web-based tool which collects demographic and financial information to estimate eligibility for eleven (11) state and local health programs, and serves as the foundation for a data repository which will allow analysis of Richmond-specific data to more fully understand and better care for under- and uninsured persons in our community. WHERE WE ARE GOING Richmond’s safety net providers are uniquely able to meet the needs of uninsured and underinsured persons with barriers to accessing healthcare (e.g., homelessness, immigrant status, language and cultural differences) – still, gaps remain. REACH’s long-term goal is to maximize the impact of the limited resources available to care for the uninsured and underinsured in the Richmond region, developing an integrated, coordinated model of delivery for affordable health care to uninsured and underinsured persons living in metro Richmond. While we are proud of our accomplishments, we look forward to implementing programs under development and continuing efforts to improve access to a comprehensive, affordable continuum of quality health care for uninsured and underinsured persons living in metro Richmond, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States.
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