By Neil Neuberger

The Department of Health and Human Services announced last week 81 new “Health Care Innovation Awards” to healthcare organizations throughout the nation, including several to community health centers.

The grants, in support of projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, are intended to promote high-quality care, reduce costs, and strengthen the healthcare workforce. while reducing overall healthcare spending by $1.9 billion over the next three years in the Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP). A summary of the 107 funded projects, announced May 8 and June 15, is found at: http://innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/Innovation-Awards/index.html

While many of the collaborative efforts include health centers, we are especially pleased that the latest awardees showcase programs in the FQHC community and recognize the significant leadership of health centers. Once again, health centers are leading the way in creating innovative solutions that meet the needs of their communities.

The projects include:

• Ben Archer Health Center – New Mexico
  “A home visitation program for rural populations in Northern Dona Ana County, New Mexico”
  Funding Amount: $ 1,270,845
  Estimated Savings: $ 6,325,888
• Eau Claire Cooperative Health Centers, Inc. – South Carolina
  “Healthy Columbia: recruiting, training, organizing, deploying, and supporting community health teams in low income areas of Columbia, South Carolina”
  Funding Amount: $ 2,330,000
  Estimated Savings: $ 14,817,600
• Johns Hopkins University – Maryland
  “Johns Hopkins Community Health Partnership (J-CHiP)” in partnership with Baltimore Medical System CHC
  Funding Amount: $ 19,920,338
  Estimated Savings: $ 52,600,000
• Mary’s Center for Maternal Child Care – Washington, D.C.
  “Capital Clinical Integrated Network”
  Funding Amount: $ 14,991,005
  Estimated Savings: $ 17,712,000
• The National Health Care For The Homeless Council – N.H., Texas, Nebraska, Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, North Carolina, California
  “Community health workers and HCH: a partnership to promote primary care”
  Funding Amount: $ 2,681,877
  Estimated Savings: $ 1,500,000
• San Francisco Community College – Alabama, California, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, and Puerto Rico
  “Transitions clinic network: linking high-risk Medicaid patients from prison to community primary care” (In collaboration with eleven FQHCs)
  Funding Amount: $ 6,852,153
  Estimated Savings: $ 8,115,855
• South County Community Health Center – California
  “Ravenswood Family Health Care Innovation Project”
  Funding Amount: $ 7,302,463
  Estimated Savings: $ 6.2 million