Safety net providers serve populations with significant health problems but limited or no ability to pay for services. Safety net providers may include community health centers, free clinics, community behavioral health service providers, essential hospitals, a spectrum of community clinicians, and other community-based organizations. These organizations play an essential role in efforts to create healthier communities. They are also essential partners in efforts to manage population health.
These are challenging times for safety net providers. Historically, safety net providers have always been long on services and short on resources. Today, they are being asked to serve more people with fewer resources while demonstrating greater accountability for access, quality, cost, and value. Meeting this challenge requires new approaches to strategy development, capacity building, and innovation.
Community Health Solutions has a long history of supporting safety net providers. Over the years we have trained or consulted with hundreds of safety net providers on topics including strategy development, program planning, program evaluation, care model design, quality improvement, community value assessment, and accountability reporting. We are proud of this history. We help safety net providers:
- Create community-centered care models;
- Build capacity for excellence and sustainability; and
- Define and document the value they deliver to the communities they serve.
We provide these supports for safety net providers at the local, state, and regional level, often with sponsorship from community-based funders including health foundations. When multiple safety net providers are involved, we offer our Smart Collaboration solution to maximize community impact and optimize the cost-per-participant. Please contact us to learn more about Smart Collaboration for strengthening the safety net.
