Field Placement: Los Angeles Medical Home Coalition
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Preceptor: Helene Morgan, M.S.W.
Student Name: Carolyn Buenaflor
Year: 2002

Los Angeles County is home to approximately 3.2 million children ages 0 through 21 (U.S. Census, 2000) and an estimated 18% (580,000) of these are children with special health care needs (Newacheck et al, 1998). Children with special health care needs are "those who have or at increased risk for a chronic physical, developmental, behavioral or emotional condition and who also require health and related services of a type or amount beyond that required by children generally" (MCHB, 1998). In Los Angeles County, these children are served by a complex system of agencies and programs, with confusing program eligibility requirements, gaps in services, and at times, poor coordination and communication between programs. Families and providers are often left with the responsibility of navigating through this complex system to find the appropriate care services.

The Los Angeles Medical Home Coalition is part of an ongoing effort to improve services for children with special health care needs in Los Angeles County. It is a collaboration between the Los Angeles Partnership for Special Needs Children (LAPSNC), Los Angeles County CCS Workgroup, and the Los Angeles Medical Home Project. A medical home is an approach to providing care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective (AAP). The goal of this project is to improve the services for children enrolled in Los Angeles County California Children's Services (LAC/CCS) through the promotion of the medical home model of care delivery. This goal will be accomplished by 1) increasing the number of children enrolled in LAC/CCS who have an identified medical home, 2) improving the quality of the services provided in participating medical homes by establishing provider training sessions and using the rapid cycle improvement process to effect change and, 3) increasing support for providers serving as a medical home for children enrolled in LAC/CCS.

Major activities of this project include: ·

• Identifying providers willing to serve as medical homes for children enrolled in LAC/CCS
• Identifying families without medical homes enrolled in LAC/CCS and referring them to an appropriate medical home
• Convening three provider training sessions that utilize the rapid cycle improvement process strategies to improve quality of care
• Increasing the use of existing CCS reimbursement mechanisms for primary care providers serving children in the CCS program
• Providing ongoing care coordination support to medical home providers.

Parents and providers face unique challenges in caring for children with special health care needs. Providing a medical home will ease the burdens they face by effectively facilitating communication and collaboration among parents and providers. It will enhance coordination of services for children and their families, and utilize available resources more effectively and efficiently. Through the project's support and technical assistance, medical home providers can improve the quality of care provided, ultimately resulting in better health outcomes for these children.

Back to CHS Field Studies Placement Index | Back to CHS Field Studies | Back to Field Studies Home