CHIP of Roanoke Valley, New Horizons Healthcare and the Bradley Free Clinic are all in very close proximity to each physically – CHIP now shares space with a New Horizons satellite office, while the Bradley Free Clinic sits diagonally across 3rd Street in downtown Roanoke.
So the wheels went into motion once New Horizons moved in (its main campus is on Melrose Avenue): Why not make it easier for clients of those three agencies, typically lower income families, the underinsured or non-insured, to get the health care services they really need?
That’s where the “single point of entry” concept was created and announced at a joint event within the past month. CHIP (which provides health care resources for very young children) and its new partners are now using the same paperwork and will refer clients to services provided by either Bradley or New Horizons – and those agencies will do the same. That could mean free health care or on a sliding fee scale, depending on income levels.
Robin Haldiman, the CEO for CHIP, says they will “hook the caregiver up with primary care,” and that should lead to better healthcare for all since the single point of entry system will align families with a physician. Clients can be walked across the street for an “instant enrollment,” said Haldiman.
She called that a “warm handoff,” much better than just giving someone a sheet of paper with phone numbers on it, hoping they will call to seek medical care. “You get to meet face to face with the office you are going to be dealing with, you get an introduction. We’re going to make it easy to get the eligibility paperwork done, which is sometimes a barrier.” Haldiman said the success rates for warm handoffs are “much, much greater” than just referring clients to another agency that might be able to help them.
Eileen Lepro, chief executive officer for New Horizons Health Care, said single point of entry will “formalize” what has already been an informal partnership they’ve had with the Bradley Clinic and with CHIP of Roanoke Valley over the years, “in terms of strengthening the safety net for our patients in finding the services they need.”
That could mean potential clients who come into New Horizons may be directed to the Bradley “as a better resource for them.” The partnership also extends to those that come into the Melrose campus but the trial run for single point of entry is taking place on 3rd Street.
City Council member John Garland was on hand for a signing ceremony by the three non-profits: “The cooperation is not unlike what the city has been able to do with regional cooperation – any time you can get multiple groups together and headed in the same direction that’s got to be good.”
Bradley Free Clinic executive director Janine Underwood also said the new partnership will benefit their clients by making sure they receive the medical care needed – and from the right agency. “A warm handoff will be instrumental in [clients] getting the right care. We’ll be able to educate our clients about all of the services available from the other agencies [as well]. And we can walk them across the street.” Bradley Free Clinic also provides health care for students without health care coverage.
Haldiman called it a trend where agencies are banding together for efficiency and to save money in many cases. “Increasingly people are getting out of their silos and working in collaborations and partnerships. I like that idea. The more we can wrap services around families the more success [health-wise] they are going to have.”
Gene Marrano