The Health Equity Alliance of Long Island’s Innovation
Our Mission
Our Vision
Our Goals
Important Documents
Medicaid 1115 Waiver in NYS
Prenatal and Postpartum Health
Community Health Workers
Coalition Meetings
Examples of the 1115 Waiver in Other States
How To Join
Our Mission
The mission of the Health Equity Alliance of Long Island (HEALI) is to engage health and human service agencies, community members and other stakeholders to ensure equitable health and life outcomes for all Long Islanders through cross-sector partnerships, innovative funding strategies and improvements in the health & human service delivery system. We will use our collective power to influence public policy and investment decisions by funders.
Our Vision
HEALI’s vision is to build and provide an integrated, holistic, culturally and linguistically responsive health and human service delivery system that results in equitable health and life outcomes for all Long Islanders.
Our Goals
Important Documents
Medicaid 1115 Waiver in NYS
Section 1115 of the Social Security Act permits the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to approve experimental, pilot or demonstration projects that test and evaluate state-specific policy changes in Medicaid and CHIP programs to improve care, increase efficiency and reduce costs without increasing federal Medicaid expenditures. Through the 1115 Waiver, HEALI seeks to:
The most recent 1115 waiver proposal in New York, “New York Health Equity Reform (NYHER)”, aims to build upon New York State’s successes and lessons learned from the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program to achieve sustainable system reform with a focus on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity by fully integrating social care and health care in the Medicaid program.
The waiver seeks to promote health equity by addressing the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH). SDOH have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life. Examples of SDOH include:
Through the waiver, NYS aims to formally organize CBOs to perform social care interventions, through regional Social Care Networks (SCN). These SCNs will:
HEALI is eager to continue the work of coordinating Long Island’s CBOs and working collaboratively with health systems, MCOs, and other key partners under the work of this new Medicaid waiver, which is currently pending final approval from CMS.
Resources, summaries and commentary on the amendment application:
Prenatal and Postpartum Health
The United States’ maternal mortality rate ranks 47th among developed nations, and it’s even worse for women of color. African-American women are three times more likely than other women to die from childbirth-related complications.
At the December 2021 HEALI meeting, Shanequa Levin (Founder and CEO of the Women’s Diversity Network) and Dr. Martine Hackett (Program Director and Associate Professor of Population Health at Hofstra University) detailed just how alarming these figures are. To view their presentation, please click here.
Ms. Levin and Dr. Hackett also led a discussion among the coalition members on how to improve the social determinants of health for pregnancy and birth. To view the notes from the discussion, please click here.
Women’s Diversity Network Maternal Justice Coalition
The Women’s Diversity Network hosts a Maternal Justice Coalition as part of the “birth justice” movement and is working to improve maternal health care for racially marginalized communities. If you are interested in joining this coalition, please visit tinyurl.com/mjcworkgroups
Additional Information and Important Articles
Community Health Workers
Community Health Workers (CHWs) are frontline public health workers who have a close understanding and passion for the community they will be serving. Community Health Workers provide health and social service support to individuals in the community and also build community capacity by increasing health knowledge and self-sufficiency through a range of activities such as community education, counseling, and advocacy.
Working with a Community Care team including Doctors, Nurses, Therapists and Social Workers, CHWs conduct home visits, link patients to supportive services, teach patients self-management techniques, and facilitate transportation and patient appointments with the goal of improving health outcomes.
Recognizing the critical role CHWs play in communities and lives, HEALI has prioritized efforts to expand the CHW workforce here on Long Island.
HWCLI partnered with Public Health Solutions on a regional CHW assessment to determine the baseline of where Long Island is in terms of CHWs in the region. HWCLI distributed a survey to its network of organizations in the spring of 2022 to assess current CHW employment and asked additional questions related to funding, roles, titles, education and need for technical assistance and support. Analysis of the survey provided a better understanding of the current CHW workforce and helped create additional questions that were used for key informant interviews of several survey respondents that represented CBOs and FQHCs in which CHWs serve diverse populations in varying capacity.
Recognizing the need for long-term and collaborative work, HEALI convenes a CHW subcommittee, with participants from CBOs, FQHCs, health systems, and educational institutions from across the region to identify educational opportunities for individuals and organizations related to the CHW role, as well as advocacy efforts to promote long-term, sustainable CHW employment models.
If you are interested in joining the CHW subcommittee, please contact HEALI Coordinator Samantha Klein at sklein@hwcli.com.
Choice for All, a Long Island based nonprofit that provides direct services and promotes community-led campaigns focused on education, health, and economic justice, has adopted a Community Health Worker Model to help community members by addressing the Social Determinants of Health.
At a past HEALI meeting, Choice for All explained how this approach helps to insure children grow up in a healthy environment. You can view their presentation by clicking here.
Coalition Meetings
Emily Engel, Director, Bureau of Social Care and Community Supports at the NYS Department of Health, provided updates on the pending Medicaid 1115 waiver in New York State.
Meeting Recording (Passcode: 6&kdS5%u)
United Hospital Fund Medicaid Conference Slides and Recording
Elaine Borawski, Alissa Glenn, and Chris Mundorf from Nourishing Blessings discussed their research involving programs designed to help pregnant people through nutrition and social support that also utilize Community Health Workers.
Denise DiNoto, Senior Consultant at Intrepid Ascent, discussed the Community Supports and Services provided through CalAIM.
Arielle Burlett, Director of Healthcare-Community Partnerships at Public Health Solutions, discussed the integrated nutrition services program to improve health equity.
Dr. Sarah Redding, Co-Founder of the Pathways Community Hub Model discussed The Pathways Community HUB Institute Model and how it is helping communities by supporting care coordination with a focus on the whole person and working in partnership with multiple community stakeholders.
Dorella Walters, Sr. Director of Business Development & Community Partnerships at God’s Love We Deliver discussed their medically tailored meals program and policies supporting this work.
Serena Liguori, Executive Director of New Hour for Women and Children, Samuel Taylor, Senior Consultant from Intrepid Ascent, and Julie White, Principal Consultant from Health Management Associates discussed the justice-involved work on Long Island and re-entry initiatives from California and other states.
Elisabeth Benjamin, Vice President of Health Initiatives at Community Service Society of NY (CSSNY), discussed the End Medical Debt work and the end of the public health emergency.
Greta Guarton from Long Island Coalition for the Homeless discussed the work of Continuum of Care (COC) and opportunities to partner to address housing insecurity on Long Island through the 1115 Waiver.
Melissa Wettengel, Aviva Cohen, Kris Bly, and James Ford
Meeting recording (Passcode: wb81f88)
Presentation: Jacob Dixon (CEO of Choice for All)
Presentation: Emily Engel (New York State Office of Health Insurance Programs)
Examples of the 1115 Waiver in Other States
Oregon:
How To Join
To work with HEALI to build a future for Long Island in which zip code no longer determines health outcomes, please fill out this form to participate in the next HEALI meeting, which occurs the third Wednesday of every month at 10:00am.
If you have any questions, please email HEALI Coordinator Samantha Klein at sklein@hwcli.com.
HEALI Steering Committee
Lori Andrade
Health and Welfare Council of Long Island
Greta Guarton
Long Island Coalition for the Homeless
Jacob Dixon
Choice for All
Colleen Merlo
Association for Mental Health and Wellness
Joy Connolly
Child Care Council of Nassau County
Kathy Rosenthal
Family Service League
Jeffrey McQueen
Mental Health Association of Nassau County
Martine Hackett
Hofstra University
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