MDNews - Central New York

++++++++++++++++++ + + ++++++++++++++++++ LOCAL NEWS +++ +++ ST. JOSEPH'S WESTSIDE FAMILY HEALTH CENTER EARNS NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR PATIENT-CENTERED CARE St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center re- cently announced that its Westside Family Health Center, located at 216 Seymour St. in Syracuse, has received recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance's (NCQA's) Physician Practice Connections–Patient-Centered Medical Home (PPC–PCMH) program for using ev- idence-based, patient-centered processes that focus on highly coordinated care and long-term participative relationships. The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a promising model of health care delivery that aims to improve the qual- ity and efficiency of care. The PPC–PCMH designation identifies practices that promote partnerships between individual patients and their personal clinicians. Each patient's care is tended to by clinician-led care teams, who provide for all the patient's health care needs and coordinate treatments across the health care system. Medical home clinicians dem- onstrate the benchmarks of patient-centered care, including open scheduling, expanded hours and appropriate use of proven health information systems. Early evaluations of the PPC–PCMH model have shown promising results in improving care quality and lowering costs by increasing access to more efficient, more coordinated care. By avoiding unneces- sary hospitalizations and emergency room visits, the model is producing savings for payers, purchasers and patients. "The patient-centered medical home promises to improve health and health care," says NCQA President Margaret E. O'Kane. "The active, ongoing relationship between a patient and clinician in medical homes fosters an all-too-rare goal in care: staying healthy and preventing illness in the first place. PPC– PCMH recognition shows that St. Joseph's Westside Family Health Center has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care at the right time." To receive recognition, which is valid for three years, St. Joseph's Westside Family Health Center demonstrated the ability to meet the program's key elements embody- ing the characteristics of the medical home. The standards are aligned with the joint principles of the PCMH established with the American College of Physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Osteopathic Association. St. Joseph's Westside Family Health Center met key program components in the following areas: + written standards for patient access and enhanced communications + appropriate use of charting tools to track patients and organize clinical information + responsive care-management techniques with an emphasis on preventive care GRANT TO FUND HEARING AIDS FOR YOUTH The Gifford Foundation recently awarded $13,000 to Aurora of Central New York, Inc. to support its Low Cost Hearing Aid Program for Youth Who Are Hard of Hearing. The program provides hearing aids at low cost for up to 10 children per year in partnership with Hear 2 Learn, a pediatric therapy and service agency. The grant will cover the costs of audiologist consultations, hearing aids, and support and training once + adaptation to patients' cultural and linguistic needs + use of information technology for pre- scriptions and care management + use of evidence-based guidelines to treat chronic conditions + systematic tracking of referrals and test results + measurement and reporting of clinical and service performance St. Joseph's Westside Family Health Center is at the center of a grant-funded initiative to expand health and human services on Syracuse's Near Westside. The center will be expanded from 4,000 to 18,000 square feet and will participate in new wellness, nutrition and education programs for neighbor- hood residents. The bilingual staff provides obstetrics and gynecological care, pediatric well and sick visits, immunizations, physical exams, blood draws, nutritional and financial counseling, and referrals to specialists as needed. Physicians are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The center saw 8,023 patient visits in 2011. 20 | Central New York MD NEWS ■ MDNEWS.COM

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