AUTHOR
Stephanie Giannetto & Kim Prendergast
At C3, one way that we express our commitment to health equity is through our investments in programs that address the social drivers of poor health.
For the past four years, we have worked to identify and address health related social needs of our members, screening members for those needs that create barriers to good health, such as food insecurity, housing instability, transportation, and utilities. But we know that screening is just the first step. So, we’ve committed to delivering training to FQHC staff to address patients’ social needs effectively, and to co-designing programs with community-based organizations in ways that build the capacity of our communities to improve access to healthy food, and to safe and affordable housing for our members.
Today, C3 works with more than 25 community-based organizations across Massachusetts, collaborating with these partners to create programs that assure our members get the personalized support that they need. Since inception, we’ve supported more than 12,000 members with goods and services to improve food security, make healthy home modifications and improve housing stability. Read more about this program, called Flexible Services, here.
Beginning in 2023, we are bringing that expertise to California. We are proud to have been selected as a TA vendor in the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) Providing Access and Transforming Health (PATH) Technical Assistance Marketplace in the Community Supports domain. This strategic initiative aims to provide essential support to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and community-based organizations, strengthening their capacity to address critical social drivers of health such as food insecurity and housing instability.
Christina Severin, our CEO, shares her excitement, stating, “We are thrilled to bring our experience in addressing social drivers of health to California, assisting FQHCs and their community-based organization partners in enhancing health equity for Medicaid patients across the state.”
Through our Technical Assistance approach, the C3 team behind the Massachusetts work will provide hands-on support to organizations in California to:
- Coach FQHCs and community based organizations to develop or expand their social health strategies and programs;
- Advise on approaches for screening patients for health-related social needs;
- Recommend tools, trainings and workflows to connect members to community resources; and
As we take on this exciting role within the CalAIM Technical Assistance Program, the potential for transformative healthcare in California is evident. We look forward to working with FQHCs and their partners in CalAIM. To learn more, please contact us at C3TA@c3aco.org.
