Health Transformation Underway in Washington, DC

by Kathy Freshley
Program Officer

Currently, DC spends $1.5 billion per year on health — 20 percent of its budget.  And yet, according to a recent RAND report, about half of the city's residents live in neighborhoods without adequate medical services, and more than one in four adults in DC suffer from hypertension, cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, asthma, heart disease and/or obesity.  Neighborhoods in Ward 1, 4, 5, 7, and 8 have the fewest numbers of medical providers and the highest concentrations of vulnerable people with chronic diseases and untreated depression.  Emergency rooms are the only option for many but they are expensive, over-crowded, and result in disjointed treatment. However, there is good news ahead for DC's most vulnerable citizens.

Health care for low-income and uninsured children, youth and adults living in Washington, DC is about to change dramatically as the result of the collective work of advocates, grantmakers, and government leadership.  The DC Primary Care Association (DCPCA) is at the forefront of this transformation.  DCPCA is working hard to create a rational health care delivery system that will provide high quality access to preventive and primary care for everyone who needs it regardless of income or insurance status. 

DCPCA's most significant initiative, Medical Homes DC, is a ten-year effort to rebuild and restructure the primary health care system in DC. The first goal of Medical Homes DC is to increase the number of primary care health centers located in underserved wards.  With more than $7.5 million in foundation and $21 million in city funding, six new clinics are being planned; four of these are located in Wards 7 and 8.  Sites are secured and construction will start in 2009. 

Many of the strongest nonprofits will be adding new facilities, including Mary's Center (new health center in Ward 4), Community of Hope (Ward 8), and the Whitman-Walker Clinic (Ward 7). Unity Health Care will be tearing down three inadequate facilities in Wards 6, 7 and 8 and replacing them will larger health centers in the same wards.  These new Medical Home facilities will provide comprehensive and integrated health care services with many specialty services located in the same or adjacent building.  In addition, Bread for the City (Ward 2), La Clinica del Pueblo (Ward 1), Family Health and Birthing Center (Ward 5), and Family and Medical Counseling Services (Ward 8) are renovating their existing clinics in order to expand services at their current locations. 

DCPCA is not just developing new facilities.  It is also implementing a city-wide Medical Homes electronic medical record network, creating adolescent wellness initiatives, training nonprofit providers in updated clinical and business practices, advocating increasing Medicaid and Alliance reimbursement rates, and developing new initiatives to lure providers to work in low-income communities. All the elements – the right time, the right partners, the need, and the right creative thinking – are aligning to change health care in DC in a transformative way.

Meyer Foundation 2007 Annual Report Now Available

The Meyer Foundation 2007 annual report, Trailblazing, is now available. It features three Meyer Foundation grantees – Alexandria Seaport Foundation, Dance Place, and CASA de Maryland – and their leaders who routinely adapt to changing landscapes yet never lose sight of their mission.  To download the full annual report and to visit the microsite, click here. 

Learning Opportunities 

Monday, August 25, 2008

Leadership Sustainability and Succession Planning

TransitionGuides

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Engaging Your Board in Creating Sustainable Funding

Benevon

This free session is designed for board members and nonprofit executives.  Session participants will learn how to establish a steady stream of mission-focused major donors.  Learn more.   

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Good Governance Practices for the New 990
Foundation Center

The new form is placing greater emphasis on the board of directors' role in overseeing the financial affairs of nonprofits. This session will provide information on these changes. Learn more.

For a list of additional Form 990 resources, visit the Meyer website at: http://www.meyerfoundation.org/990resources/

Monday, September 15, 2008

Grantseeker Training Institute

Foundation Center

This five-day training institute will instruct on how to develop fundraising strategies and communicate funding requests more powerfully. It will also provide an opportunity for networking.  Learn more.