|
 |
| Purpose for Health Care Project |
|
| |
| |
|
Need Continued…
Issues cited included: societal misunderstanding; lack of health care provider experience and knowledge in caring for those with DD; improving provider incentives to ensure the health of this population and the need for more research related to the health care needs of this population among other things. This project is necessary to understand the scope of the problem in Massachusetts and how best to intervene so that improvements can be made. Since our project will rely on effective alliances with other disability organizations, public agencies, public officials and health care systems, it will be necessary to have reliable data with which to develop a plan and outreach to other groups and to propose statewide changes.
Project Plan Continued…
Focus groups will be completed with self-advocates, parents/guardians, and long-term support professionals. Through an on-line survey, the project will also gain experiences and perspectives from families, consumers, and developmental disability providers not included in the focus groups. Additionally, we will use the interview method to collect knowledge and experience amongst medical personnel, state legislators, and insurance providers. Once information is retrieved from the focus groups, on-line surveys, and interviews, coding and analysis will begin. We will inquire how to effectively make systematic statewide change.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
December 2007 - The Arc of Massachusetts' Health Care Project has finished conducting focus groups in the Boston area with self-advocates, parents/guardians, and long-term support professionals.
March 2008 - We have wrapped up interviews with medical personnel, state legislators, and insurance providers.
May 2008 - The next focus group meeting will be held at the Multicultural Community Services in Springfield on the 15th with a mix of parents/guardians and long-term support professionals*.
*Professions include mid-level managers, senior staff members, nurses, and state agency personnel who can speak to the health care services recipients receive
Collaborative Meetings
November 2007 - The Health Care Project Steering Committee met to discuss and give guidance on the interview questions. The group continues to be a great team to work with!
February 2008 - The Health Care Project Team and Steering Committee joined a conference call with Beverly Roberts, Director of The Arc of New Jersey's Mainstreaming Medical Care Program. Beverly provided insight on the project she has managed for 19 years, including how her team sustained long-term funding, etc.
|
|
| |
|
| |
The Arc of Massachusetts' Health Care Project Joins the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence
The Arc of Massachusetts’s Health Care Project has joined the Leadership Council of an exciting new statewide initiative called The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence. The Massachusetts-based Partnership is the first statewide effort in the nation to focus specifically on patients – helping them to play a greater role in improving the quality of their health care. The goals of the Partnership are to educate the public about variation in health care quality and to provide consumers with information and tools to improve the quality of their own care. The Partnership seeks to motivate consumers to advocate for overall health system change that improve quality of care. The Arc of Massachusetts is proud to join a broad coalition of organizations supporting the Partnership. For more information, click here.
The Arc of Massachusetts receives funding from the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts!
Thanks to the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, The Arc of Massachusetts is able to conduct a focus group and one legislative interview in the Pioneer Valley. The focus group takes place on May 15, 2008 in Springfield.
|
|
| |
|
|
| Partnership for Healthcare Excellence |
|
| |
| |
|
The Arc of Massachusetts Joins the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence
(Continued from main Health Care Project page)
The Arc of Massachusetts’s Health Care Project has joined the Leadership Council of an exciting new statewide initiative called The Partnership for Healthcare Excellence.
The Partnership is focused on helping Massachusetts consumers improve the quality of their health care. It includes, physicians, nurses, hospitals, patient and consumer advocacy groups, educators, businesses, labor leaders, public health analysts and many others – people from all corners of the health care system working together to improve the quality, safety and effectiveness of health care in Massachusetts.
The Partnership believes that having patients who are educated, active and engaged is one of the best ways to improve the safety and effectiveness of health care for everyone.
Toward this end, the Partnership is working to educate and motivate consumers to improve the quality of their health care. It is reaching out to consumers through a print advertising campaign, community events and a website (www.partnershipforhealthcare.org) which features a range of tools and resources, including a one-stop guide to quality information. The site also features fact sheets on how to:
· Find a doctor
· Prepare for medical appointments
· Take medications safely
· Prepare for surgery
· Compare hospital quality and patient satisfaction ratings
In the coming months, resources will be added based on consumer demand and input from members of the Partnership.
To learn more about how the Partnership is working to ensure that consumers have a stronger voice when it comes to improving the quality of their health care, visit www.partnershipforhealthcare.org
 Return to Health Care Project main page
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|