Title
Receive an oral report from the Health Department updating County efforts of the Whole Person Care (WPC) pilot program.
Presenter: Ezequiel Vega, Assistant Director, Health Department
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Health and Human Services Committee of the Board of Supervisors:
Receive an oral report and PowerPoint Presentation from the Health Department regarding County efforts of the Whole Person Care pilot program.
Presenter: Ezequiel Vega, Assistant Director, Health Department
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
WPC is a system changing program that coordinates comprehensive health, behavioral health, and social services case management to (1) improve enrollee health and reduce over-utilization of hospital resources. The program will serve a minimum of 600 Medi-Cal enrollees before December 2020 who are (1) homeless/chronically homeless, (2) may have mental illness and/or substance use, and/or (3) may have multiple chronic disease diagnoses. Beyond 2020, the WPC model will become the "new normal" with sustainable Medi-Cal funding.
The initial WPC focus population (high utilizers) of this program is exclusively homeless and chronically homeless Medi-Cal recipients or Medi-Cal eligible persons (including those released from jail) and having three two or more of the following characteristics: diagnosed mental illness, four two or more MHU admissions in the prior year, diagnosed substance use disorder, two or more chronic health diagnoses, three two or more ED visits within the prior six 12 months, two one or more hospital admissions within the prior six 12 months, or five two or more prescribed medications.
New approaches developed under WPC are:
* Complex, comprehensive care coordination
* Interdisciplinary teams headed public health nurses
* Health, mental health, housing, and vulnerability assessments
* Health & services appointment navigation and transportation
* Individual health care plans
* Warm hand-off referrals and peer navigators
* Ind...
Click here for full text