D CEO has named PCCI as a finalists in its fifth annual Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards, presented in partnership with the Communities Foundation of Texas. PCCI is a finalist for Organization of the Year (large). All finalists will be featured in D CEO’s August issue and recognized at an awards event in July, where the winners in each category will be revealed.
D CEO’s Names PCCI as a Finalist for its Nonprofit and Corporate Citizenship Awards 2022
Starting this month, the Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) is celebrating its 10th anniversary of delivering groundbreaking healthcare results that have pioneered innovative, actionable solutions that more effectively identify needs, prioritize services, empower providers and engage patients in Dallas County and beyond.
PCCI, a mission-driven organization with industry leading expertise in the practical applications of advanced data science and Non Medical Drivers of Health, was founded on May 14, 2012, as a strategic department spin-off from Parkland Health (Parkland). The goal was to provide the flexibility needed for PCCI to be a successful digital innovator in the tech sector so it can most effectively support Parkland’s mission and extend partnerships for impact more broadly. To date, PCCI has proven that through passion, creativity and collaboration, breakthrough innovation to advance the health of vulnerable communities using data-driven applications and Non Medical Drivers of Health (NMDOH) is not only possible, but scalable and sustainable.
“From our singular approach to fighting COVID-19 to helping prevent pre-term births and supporting children with asthma, our steadfast mission has been to empower clinical decisions through advanced applications and uses of data. This is intended to tell the full story of every patient and our community’s health and act as a galvanizing force for customizing care at scale to support positive change,” said Steve Miff, CEO and President of PCCI. “Because of the passion of our team, the groundwork we have laid in our first decade and the ongoing collaboration and support of Parkland and many other North Texas partners, PCCI has been able to show how powerful data can be in revealing inequity and guiding actions to understand and support the communities that need care the most.”
During the first 10 years of its existence, PCCI has worked closely with some of the most notable healthcare leaders in Dallas and nationally. This includes its collaboration with Dallas County Health and Human Services, in its launch and implementation of COVID-19 public health initiatives to help minimize the pandemic’s harm on Dallas County and its residents.
“These past two years have shown how powerful data can be in revealing inequity in order to focus on those communities that need the most help. For example, our COVID-19 Proximity and Vulnerability Indices helped guide the County’s healthcare leaders to understand where to allocate resources for testing and vaccinations,” Miff said. “During our first decade, we have collaborated with philanthropic foundations, federal agencies, rural and urban health systems, payers, local municipalities, community organizations and others who share our common passion in finding the most impactful ways to address the needs of vulnerable populations. Investments in PCCI have resulted in millions of patients engaged with the impact producing millions of dollars in savings for providers and patients.”
As an affiliate of the Parkland system, PCCI has an ongoing focus on developing and supporting a wide variety of programs that have helped improve care and create efficiencies across the Parkland system.
“Parkland has received continual benefits from PCCI because it has been, achieving advanced innovations that are aligned with Parkland’s strategy,” said Fred Cerise, MD, President & CEO of Parkland and PCCI Board member. “PCCI has been uniquely positioned to support the Parkland community with innovative solutions that empower all of us. It is no exaggeration to assert that with its digital health strategy, Parkland will lead the way for better health for our patient population.”
For the remainder of 2022, PCCI will be celebrating its 10th anniversary with programs and activities highlighting its successes and future initiatives. For more information about PCCI’s anniversary and how to join its efforts to expand equitable access to care, go to: www.pccinnovation.org.
About Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), founded in 2012, is celebrating a decade a not-for-profit, healthcare innovation organization affiliated with Parkland Health. PCCI leverages clinical expertise, data science and Non Medical Drivers of Health to address the needs of vulnerable populations.
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Listen to PCCI’s CEO Steve Miff on the latest episode of HealthLeaders Exchange’ podcast “Healthcare Makes No Sense.” The podcast description:
If patient care stops when they leave the hospital, can healthcare truly provide access to care for patients where they are?
It makes no sense!
At least not to us anyway…
Steve Miff, President & CEO of PCCI, has been the humble superstar of Dallas’ underserved communities and his passion is apparent. He understands the power of using data analytics to identify social determinants, while also connecting communities to provide swift access to care for those who need it the most.
Perhaps with his drive and knowledge we can #makeitmakesense
Come and join our conversation!
Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/dtV52kwg
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/d3kai3Hr
Google Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/dbvskzmu
Amazon Music: https://lnkd.in/dPumR8K5
Following is an excerpt from PCCI’s book, “Building Connected Communities of Care: The Playbook For Streamlining Effective Coordination Between Medical And Community-Based Organizations.” This is a practical how-to guide for clinical, community, and government, population health leaders interested in building connected clinical-community (CCC) services.
This section is from Chapter 7, “Community Partners Track.” The Community Partners Track provides the requirements for the workflows and the tools needed for Community-Based Social Service Organizations aka Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to achieve the goals of the Connected Communities of Care (CCC).
PCCI offers readiness assessments as a service for those organizations interested in building an NMDOH-based CCC. Go here for more information: https://pcci1.wpengine.com/connected-communities-of-care/.
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Case Study: Building CBO Partnerships
A cornerstone of the CCC is the CBO. The community food pantries, homeless shelters, crisis centers, and transportation service providers are the lifeline for many vulnerable and underserved community residents. In addition to providing essential services, these organizations help the individuals cope with the challenges of daily life. For far too long, these organizations were excluded from the clinical care plan process for a host of reasons. Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) (the initial philanthropic funder of the Dallas Information Exchange Portal [IEP]) and PCCI recognized the vital role these entities play in the health and well-being of the individuals seeking care at Parkland.
As part of the design of the Dallas IEP, PCCI began an ongoing effort to establish meaningful partnerships with local CBOs to foster their involvement in (and support of) the Dallas IEP, through linkages to each other and to Parkland. PCCI recognized early on that given the large geography covered by Dallas County, more than a couple CBOs would be needed to make the IEP robust and meaningful. In the past, efforts to engage CBOs typically involved recruitment at the individual CBO level, something that in the case of the IEP would likely prove problematic given the number needed. Instead, the PCCI team, with support from CFT, proposed a new approach of engaging the major
Sponsors of the CBOs, which in this case included the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB), which worked with many local food pantries, and the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance (MDHA), a large umbrella organization coordinating services for dozens of smaller homeless shelters. By working directly with these umbrella organizations, PCCI only needed to execute two contracts rather than multiple contracts with the individual CBOs. The NTFB and the MDHA were then responsible for recruiting their members in sufficient numbers to increase the IEP’s scale.
While this approach proved successful, it did not remove the need for PCCI to “make the case” for the IEP with the NTFB and the MDHA. In addition to explaining how this program would involve NTFB’s food pantries and MDHA’s homeless shelters, it was imperative to make the business case for their involvement—how will this work benefit them and their members and what will be needed from the membership. In addition to helping improve the health and well-being of community residents, we found the following to be key incentives for CBO participation: (1) ability to provide funding to support the IEP or its usage, (2) enhanced reporting and analytic capability— either through the technology platform software itself or through PCCI analytical staff, (3) opportunity to participate in future research projects that would bring visibility to other sources of funding, and (4) greater operational efficiency.
Once the list of participating CBOs was shared with PCCI, the team installed the software at the participating sites, trained CBO staff, and communicated expectations and next steps. This process proved to be one of the critical success factors behind the initiative. CBO staff members that reported training as helpful and beneficial were more likely to use the IEP than those for whom training was deemed less helpful. Feedback from those receiving training suggested that two shorter training sessions (each 1.5 hours) and involving hands on practice exercises was far more helpful than one longer training session (3 hours). When PCCI staff members (1) set clear expectations of what was expected of the CBO and how the IEP was to be used and (2) reinforced that
Community Partners Track message through follow-up question and answer sessions and individual consultations, CBO use of the IEP (as it was intended to be used) was materially higher than where less emphasis was placed on expectations.
With the software installed and training completed, PCCI implemented several short pilot test periods to ensure that the technology was performing as expected and that the CBO staff felt comfortable in using it. These short pilot test periods, lasting from 2 to 4 weeks, were critical in a successful launch of the broader IEP implementation. As anticipated, the pilot work uncovered some software issues that needed to be addressed to ensure optimal use by the CBOs. The work also revealed some modifications to the CBO and clinical/CBO workflows that needed to be made. It is important to note that
all pilot testing was done without involving any patients or residents in the testing phase.
While the preparatory work helped to ensure a successful launch of the IEP both with Parkland and the participating CBOs (whose numbers grew appreciably after the launch due to continued recruitment into the network), we found that additional steps were needed to ensure ongoing success. Much like processes that are measured regularly as part of an improvement campaign and then ended abruptly when the campaign ends, we found that to optimize the effectiveness of the IEP and maintain its momentum, we needed to institute a continuous monitoring process with both the CBOs and Parkland. This ongoing involvement with the IEP Participants proved to be a greater time commitment than we had originally foreseen. While the frequency of challenges declined with the length of time since launch, we continually uncovered new issues or new opportunities to strengthen the initiative. This was especially true for the CBOs, where most staff members include volunteers and the turnover rate is quite high. Because of this, we employed a train the-trainer model, which proved largely effective. Again, most CBOs have a very small staff. Thus, the departure of a manager or experienced frontline worker often proved a major disruption to the use of the IEP. Constant contact with the CBOs (even when the number of CBO Participants approached 100) helped ensure that any challenges could be addressed as quickly and effectively as possible.
The key takeaway from the past five years of working with the CBO community in Dallas is that relationships matter, and that these relationships need constant, open and honest, two-way communication and nurturing to bring about success. We believe that these lessons apply far beyond this initiative.
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Authors:
Steve Miff, CEO and President of PCCI
Keith Kosel, Executive Advisor for PCCI
Dallas, Texas – Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), which improves healthcare for vulnerable populations using advanced data science and clinical experts, announced the hiring of Natasha Goburdhun, MS, MPH, as Vice President, Connected Communities of Care, and the promotions of Yolande Pengetnze, MD, MS, FAAP, to Vice President, Clinical Leadership, and Albert Karam, MS, MBA, to Vice President, Data Strategy Analytics.
These executive leaders will boost PCCI’s innovative clinical and data analytics programs that have made a significant impact, including helping North Texas navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Vice President, Connected Communities of Care, Goburdhun uses PCCI’s advanced analytics to provide detailed insights on community health and social needs and assists community organizations, payers and providers in developing strategies and impact/equity measures that address the needs of vulnerable populations. She brings over 20 years of strategic planning and operations experience in health plan, provider and community-based organization sectors to PCCI.
Goburdhun was most recently the Vice President of Business Development & Operations at YMCA of the USA. Prior to that, she held senior leadership roles at Aetna Accountable Care Solutions and the American Hospital Association and served in consulting roles at Sg2 and Navigant.
She holds an MPH in Health Management from Yale University, an MS in Neurobiology from Northwestern University and a BS in Neurobiology from the University of Michigan.
“Natasha brings an amazing set of skills matched with experience and passion to help the underserved in our communities,” said Steve Miff, CEO and President of PCCI. “She is a true expert at the practical implementation of Non Medical Drivers of Health (NMDOH) principles that will benefit all of the programs she supports. Natasha is a true trailblazer and we are eager to see where she leads PCCI’s NMDOH efforts.”
Dr. Pengetnze, as Vice President, Clinical Leadership, leads multiple projects at PCCI, including a population health quality improvement project on pediatric asthma and the development of a program supporting the prevention of pre-term births. She joined PCCI in December 2013 as a Physician Scientist while remaining a Clinical Faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW). Her interests include the use of advanced predictive analytics integrating traditional data sources and novel “Big data” sources to improve health outcomes at the individual and population level.
Dr. Pengetnze, received her MD in 1998 from the University of Yaounde in Cameroon and completed a Pediatric Residency training in 2008 at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. She joined the General Pediatric Hospitalist Division of UTSW as a faculty in 2008. She completed a General Pediatric/Health Services Research Fellowship training and a Master of Sciences in Clinical Sciences at UTSW in 2013.
“Yolande has contributed heavily to PCCI’s success and is an important leader advocating for mothers and children,” said Miff. “Her passion for helping children has resulted in a number of successful partnerships with Parkland Health (Parkland) and the Parkland Community Health Plan (PCHP). This includes preterm birth prevention and pediatric asthma care programs. She recently joined other Parkland leaders to raise awareness of the harm COVID-19 can have on unvaccinated children with asthma, an important action with direct impact on the health of children in our region.”
Albert Karam, as Vice President, Data Strategy Analytics, focuses on data science platforms, infrastructure and innovative patient care solutions. He is responsible for creating predictive algorithms and real-time decision support to Parkland and other institutions across the Dallas/Fort Worth Area.
Karam has been with PCCI since 2016 and has researched, identified, managed, modeled and deployed several predictive models for Parkland and PCHP. He has also managed elements of PCCI’s data analytics teams that supported the Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Karam’s extensive experience offers a diverse understanding of modeling workflows and implementation of real-time models.
Albert obtained an MS in Mathematics from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) in 2015, and in 2020, he earned a duel degree MBA and MS in Data Analytics from UTD with a focus in Healthcare Administration.
“Albert and the team he leads at PCCI are the unsung analytics heroes of the Dallas healthcare community,” Miff said. “The impact of Albert’s work can be felt all through our community, as his predictive modeling plays a pivotal role in many programs at Parkland and DCHHS. He brings an exceptional set of standards to his work and is committed to using technology to create better clinical outcomes.”
About Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI), founded in 2012, is celebrating a decade as an independent, not-for-profit, healthcare intelligence organization. Affiliated with Parkland Health, PCCI leverages clinical expertise, data science and Non Medical Drivers of Health to address the needs of vulnerable populations.
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We are thrilled to announce that PCCI’s CEO, Steve Miff, has been named to the Dallas 500 list for the second year running! Announced by DCEO Magazine, the Dallas500 recognizes influential leaders in North Texas across a variety of industries. Congratulations to Steve Miff for the well-deserved recognition!
https://www.dmagazine.com/sponsored/2021/12/steve-miff-named-among-dallas-500-honorees/
PCCI has released it’s Annual Impact Report. This report, which is available for free download, outlines PCCI’s efforts over the past year to help support those most in need in our communities.
The report includes PCCI’s efforts to fight COVID-19 in Dallas, partnering with Dallas County, Parkland Hospital and other community partners to develop analytics showing community vulnerabilities that helped guide testing, vaccinations, herd immunity (https://lnkd.in/dNUutqnu) and the changing needs of Dallas County.
The report also provides insights into other programs PCCI’s innovations contributed to, including, pediatric asthma mitigation, preterm birth prevention and much more.
Click here to read the PCCI 2021 Annual Impact Report.
Click here to download the PCCI 2021 Annual Impact Report PCCI-AIR-2021_Final-SPREAD.
Following is a video from PCCI Steve Miff on the organization’s past year:
By Yolande Pengetnze, MD, MS, FAAP, PCCI’s Vice President of Clinical Leadership
What Has Everyone Excited about COVID-19 Vaccines for 5-11-year-olds?
With the rollout this month of COVID-19 vaccine for those 5-11 years of age, we can now directly protect children with asthma for whom COVID-19 infection is an even bigger hazard for our children during the pandemic.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the term “comorbidities” has entered our daily vernacular, mostly in reference to adults’ chronic illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes, but with pediatric asthma, children and parents have their own harmful comorbidity that can be associated with life threatening COVID-19 infection. However, with the vaccinations for children now available, there is help for asthma sufferers to avoid the worst of COVID-19.
We are off to a good start. For older children in Dallas, a protective vaccine has been available for some months and, so far, more than 50 percent of high school students and more than one-third of middle/junior high students have received their vaccinations. However, we still have some ways to go. In Dallas County, many children with asthma live in zip codes with low rates of COVID-19 vaccination (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Dallas County Maps Comparing Top Zip Codes of Children with Asthma vs. Children Not Vaccinated Against COVID-19
We need to step up outreach efforts into communities with high numbers of vulnerable children to enhance vaccine education and increase vaccine uptake for children. A special focus should be directed to the top five zip codes, 75217, 75211, 75228, 75227, and 75243, that have overlapping high pediatric asthma prevalence and low COVID-19 pediatric vaccination rates. Most concerning is ZIP code 75217, located in southeast Dallas in the Pleasant Grove area, which has the highest pediatric asthma prevalence and lowest COVID-19 pediatric vaccination rate in Dallas County. Also, ZIP code 75211, in the Cockrell Hill and Oak Cliff neighborhoods, has the third highest pediatric asthma prevalence and third lowest COVID-19 pediatric vaccination rate in the county. These two ZIP codes are two of the most challenged socioeconomic areas of Dallas County and have been battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Help Protecting Our Children Is Here
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was approved for use among 5-11-year-olds on November 2. The two-dose Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective for 5-11-year-olds at one third of the adult dose. Pediatricians, parents, schools, and other community stakeholders had been waiting for this breakthrough, especially for the benefit of vulnerable children with comorbidities such as asthma.
The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the SARS-Coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) which is primarily transmitted through airborne respiratory droplets and the most important tool in fighting respiratory pandemics is mass vaccination.
COVID-19 vaccines were developed with unprecedented speed, initially approved for adults, quickly followed by adolescents 12 years and older. As is typically, however, additional efficacy and safety studies were required for approval among children 5-11-year-olds.
Early in the pandemic, children were less impacted as the original SARSCoV2 virus strain (so-called Alpha strain) had a low transmission rate and caused mild disease among most children. As the pandemic progressed, however, the face of the pandemic evolved from a predominantly adult disease to a progressive increase in pediatric cases. Children went from representing around 4 percent of all cases early in the pandemic to accounting up to 25 percent of all cases more recently.
Contributing factors to rising pediatric cases include the emergence of highly transmissible variants (including the Delta variant, now the dominant strain in the US), in-person school reopening in the fall of 2021, relaxation of Public Health measures, reduced community mask wearing and social distancing, reopening of public spaces, and, importantly, no vaccine approval for school-age children 5-11 years old.
COVID-19 Vaccine Brings Children Needed Relief
Children 5-11 years old represent approximately 15 percent of the US population, can acquire and transmit COVID-19 in school and in the community. The absence of vaccines for this population denied them access to the most effective tool in our toolbox to fight this pandemic, making it difficult if not impossible to reach herd immunity goals of 80-90 percent community vaccination required to curb this pandemic.
Additionally, the toll of the COVID-19 pandemic among children has been rising. In 19 months since the beginning of the pandemic,
In comparison, 39,000 flu-related hospitalizations and only 366 flu-related deaths were reported among US children during the 2018-2019 flu season. The COVID-19 pediatric death toll, therefore, is ~64 percent higher than expected in a typical flu season.
Vaccines Protect Children with Asthma
Children with medical comorbidities, including poorly controlled asthma, are particularly vulnerable to severe COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and death. Appropriate asthma control is key to mitigating COVID-19 morbidity and mortality among children.
Underlining the urgent need for vaccinating children, leading expert on pediatric asthma, Dr. Mark Clanton, Chief Medical Officer at Parkland Community Health Plan, offers clear guidance for parents with children who suffer from pediatric asthma.
“Good asthma control can be achieved through controller medication adherence, trigger avoidance, timely use of rescue inhalers, frequent follow-up with doctors, and effective use of asthma action plans at home and in school. Additionally, parents should ensure their child’s school follows pandemic prevention measures of aeration and their children assiduously follow pandemic prevention measures, including mask wearing (masks are safe and effective for children with asthma!) and physical distancing. Most importantly, parents need to their children the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as their child become eligible,” said Dr. Clanton.
The two-dose Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, administered three weeks apart, is safe and effective for 5-11-year-olds. The vaccine elicits a strong, protective immune response and is over 90 percent effective against COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations and deaths. The vaccine likely confers protection against community spread, although data for this outcome is still forthcoming. Fewer and less severe side effects have been observed among 5-11-year-olds compared with adults. Preliminary data from the Moderna vaccine also show a similarly favorable safety and effectiveness profile.
Protect Your Children Now
With this new tool in our arsenal, we are one step closer to winning the battle against COVID-19. Vaccines, however, only work if they are administered to people who need it.
We call on all stakeholders, including parents, healthcare leaders, schools and communities to team up and make vaccines available and accessible to all eligible children. Parents, YOU are most the important stakeholders of all! We encourage you to get your elementary- middle- and high-schoolers vaccinated against COVID-19 to keep our schools safe and our community open! #GiveItAShot
(Contributors to this article include: Xiao “Michelle” Wang, PhD, PCCI Senior Data and Applied Scientist, and Steve Miff, PCCI CEO and President.)
About Yolande Pengetnze
Yolande Pengetnze, MD, MS, FAAP, is PCCI’s Vice President of Clinical Leadership where she leads multiple projects including population health quality improvement projects focusing on preterm birth prevention and pediatric asthma at the individual and the population level. Dr. Pengetnze received her MD from the University of Yaounde in Cameroon and completed a Pediatric Residency at Maimonides Medical Center in New York. She was a faculty member at UTSW’s General Pediatric Hospitalist Division where she completed a General Pediatric/Health Services Research Fellowship training and earned a Master of Sciences in Clinical Sciences.
By Keith C. Kosel, PhD, MHSA, MBA
“Show me the money!” No one old enough to have seen the 1996 movie, Jerry Maguire, will ever forget that memorable phrase. That simple but powerful phrase could apply to every person who punches a clock for a living and just about every business, including community-based organizations (CBOs) and Connected Communities of Care (CCC). For CCCs and other non-profits, a parallel but no less powerful phrase, “No margin, no mission,” also rings true― just ask Sister Irene Kraus of the Daughters of Charity National Health Care System, who is credited with giving health care the phrase. The question is, how do we satisfy these two complementary statements?
When we consider funding for a CCC, we usually speak of seed funding― those dollars provided by a grant or other type of external funding award to establish a new entity or program. Initial planning, design, development, and implementation typically fall under the heading of seed funding. But once the new entity or program is operational and the seed funding is expended, then what? How do we sustain the CCC’s operation? Unfortunately, for most non-profit organizations, that’s when they first seriously ask themselves the question, just before the money runs out and the entity and/or program is placed in immediate peril of failing. This state of hyper-anxiety could have been avoided with some simple sustainability planning initiated very early, during the initial planning phase of the project.
The time to think about how operations will be sustained is not after the entity or program is implemented, but before the first meal is served, the first patient seen, or the first service delivered. For many, especially those new to starting a going concern, this might seem like odd advice and that’s completely understandable. When you are planning, designing, developing, and implementing a new entity or program, you typically have your hands full with a myriad of activities such as hiring team members, decision-making, checking progress, and achieving milestones, revising plans, etc. The last thing you are thinking about is where to get money to keep things going, especially since you have the seed funding check in your pocket, providing a false sense of financial security. But to that initial list of must-dos, you have to include looking beyond the implementation phase to evaluate where the next paycheck will come from and how you will obtain it. To be sure, this is difficult for most organizations to do, but it is essential for the long-term viability of the entity or program like a CCC.
Before we look more closely at the two key elements of financial sustainability – 1) what funders are looking for, and 2) sources of supplemental funding― it is vitally important to state the obvious, which is that sustainability involves far more than just accessing funds. We often talk about operational sustainability, meaning those factors other than money that are essential to keep the organization functioning. Succession planning immediately comes to mind. What happens if the person leading your CCC abruptly leaves or has a major health episode (e.g., heart attack, cancer diagnosis, complications from COVID-19)? We also speak of political sustainability, such as what happens if a new administration takes office and isn’t as favorably disposed to your entity or program as the prior administration? Ever wonder why tech giants and the big Wall Street banks and brokerage firms give money to both parties? That’s political sustainability in action! While all these other types of sustainability are no doubt important, for most non-profit CBOs and CCCs, finding funds to continue operations is, without exception, their greatest concern. Because of that, I will focus my comments on financial sustainability.
Of the two key elements of financial sustainability referenced above, understanding what funders are looking for and ensuring that your new undertaking can deliver “the goods” is paramount to sustaining a CCC. Today more than ever, funders (e.g., philanthropic organizations or civic entities, including state and federal grant makers) expect organizations seeking funding for ongoing operations to be able to demonstrate―through valid, demonstrable data― that the programs and services they are delivering are making a difference. No longer are philanthropic organizations willing to simply write a check to non-profit start-ups with the admonishment to “do good with it.” Among other things, given the increasing competition among non-profits for funding assistance, funders are increasingly seeking proof that the new entity, program, or service is making a demonstrable and meaningful difference in the community or among those being served. While this certainly seems like a reasonable expectation, it often catches start-ups by surprise, setting in motion a chaotic chain reaction of panic and grasping at any funding opportunity- even if it’s not related to the core strength of the start-up, that might provide funds, and then more panic when/if that opportunity fails to materialize. To prevent this situation in your CCC, you must BOTH plan for ongoing funding and put your organization in the best possible position to demonstrate that you are making a real difference. So how do you do that? Very simply, you deliver on your promises and generate results that matter.
While that sounds simple enough, it’s what causes most new start-ups, including CCCs, to fail. Having an idea to improve the health and well-being of individuals in the community is simple, but making it happen is much more difficult. Here we are talking about ensuring you can demonstrate to potential funders that you have established realistic stretch goals and supporting objectives for your CCC or one of its programs and that you met those goals and objectives. Have you identified validated measures to track and evaluate performance and do you have a system for helping you collect and analyze the requisite data? Finally, is your program doing what you expected it to do and have you documented every step of the way? These elements are not easy to accomplish. It takes astute planning, a knowledge of the field and immediate market to know what is demanded and valued, and an obsession for tracking all the essential moving pieces. If you can do all of this and your program or service performs as expected, then you will be well on your way to securing the ongoing funding necessary to sustain your operations. As indicated, this is much easier said than done and it is where most new organizations or programs go wrong. Even when your program or service performs to perfection, failing to capture and document that performance (a very common problem among start-ups) can put you squarely behind the eight-ball.
Next, fast forward to results, which have been documented and are turning heads. This means that the funds should just start flowing in, right? Well not exactly. First, you will need to find a funder that believes in you and your data. That’s often not as difficult as it might sound. Start with those you know best― the organizations that provided your seed funding. Assuming the organization that provided your initial funds also funds ongoing projects (some funders do not) and you have solid results, find out if they would be open to continuing to support your work. If they do not, reach out to other funders that know you, assuming your program or service fits within those areas they fund. It is well-known among those in the funding game that funders prefer to fund those they know and those that have consistently delivered the goods. The risk to the funder is considerably less if they know where the money is going, how it will be spent, and if the awardee has a good track record of fiscal responsibility and program results. This is equally true whether you are talking about local philanthropic funders or state and national governmental agencies―building a strong relationship with your funder and delivering result is a proven winning formula.
If the organization that provided your seed funding does not fund ongoing operations, or for any other reason it may be difficult to approach your initial funder or other funders that know you, then you must begin your search for another funding entity. While this process can take some time, especially if you are new to the funding game, it is not that difficult to identify organizations with funding opportunities that may be open to hearing about your results and receiving a proposal. There are numerous information services that identify funding opportunities across the country that can be accessed for free (e.g., www.grants.gov for government opportunities, www.ruralhealthinfo.org for rural opportunities) or for a fee through a subscription arrangement (e.g., www.grantwatch.com and www.grantstation.com), to name just a few. These services cover a wide range of funding opportunities from governmental agencies to local, state, regional, and national philanthropic foundations and can serve as a good way to locate organizations that fund the type of work you do. While there are many professional firms that will do this searching for you for a fee, which is often quite steep, with a little time and perseverance you can do the searches yourself.
At the end of the day, achieving financial sustainability for your new CCC is not that difficult so long as you remember to begin to plan for the need early on during your initial start-up period and, most importantly, you generate solid, demonstrable, in-demand results that funders are eager to pay to support.
About the author
Dr. Keith Kosel, Executive Advisor at Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) and is author of “Building Connected Communities of Care: The Playbook for Streamlining Effective Coordination Between Medical and Community-Based Organizations,” a guide that brings together communities to support our most vulnerable. At PCCI, Keith is leveraging his passion for – and extensive experience in – patient safety, quality, and population health by focusing on understanding Non Medical Drivers of Health and the impact of community-based interventions in improving the health of vulnerable and underserved populations.
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Asthma a top cause of sickness in Dallas County children
DALLAS – It’s difficult to keep Sir Moreland of Mesquite indoors. Like most 12-year-old boys, Sir loves spending time outside with his brother and friends. Playing baseball and basketball is his favorite thing to do but right now his focus is flag football.
“This is the first time I’ll be playing for a team,” said Sir. “I’m scared, nervous and excited.”
Playing sports was not always easy for Sir. At age 5 after running outside with friends, Sir began struggling to breathe and was rushed to the Emergency Department at Children’s Hospital. His mother Sheniqua Turner, 36, had no idea the symptoms her son was experiencing at that moment were due to an asthma attack. He was hospitalized for three days.
“I knew of some kids who had asthma, but I’d never seen an asthma attack firsthand,” said Turner. “I didn’t know what was going on. I was really nervous and didn’t know what to do.”
According to physicians at Parkland Health & Hospital System, asthma symptoms vary from person to person. The most common include shortness of breath, chest tightness or pain, coughing or wheezing and episodes that worsen with respiratory viruses like the flu. These symptoms tend to appear when exposed to triggers like pet dander, dust, pollen, air pollutant, mold or even cold air. For some, the symptoms might not necessarily be conspicuous, such as a mild, prolonged cough.
After her son’s discharge from the hospital Turner immediately followed up with Sir’s pediatrician at Parkland who educated the worried mother about asthma and potential treatments. She left with a personalized action plan to help manage Sir’s asthma.
“I had to learn all his triggers,” said Turner. “I think that’s the reason he hasn’t had an asthma attack since. He’s doing really good now.”
About 6 million children in the U.S. ages 0-17 years have asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The 2019 Dallas County Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) identified asthma as a leading chronic disease among children, particularly in children residing in ZIP codes located in the southeast of Dallas County. Parkland providers have launched a new program to educate parents and other caregivers and stress the importance of having a personalized action plan to help manage the disease.
“It’s a significant problem. Children would visit their nurse at school because they didn’t have their asthma under control,” said Cesar Termulo, MD, Associate Medical Director at Parkland’s Hatcher Station Community Oriented Primary Care health center. “At times their case would be too severe, and they would need to be taken to the hospital. The majority of these children were not being seen by a primary care doctor to help manage their asthma.”
To help families dealing with the condition, six ZIP codes in Dallas County (75210, 75211, 75215, 75216, 75217 and 75241) were identified to target with interventions to improve children’s asthma control through Breath for Life & Learn for Life, a collaborative effort between Parkland and multiple organizations to address asthma in the community.
Parkland Center for Clinical Innovation (PCCI) instituted an educational text messaging program that focuses on upstream interventions to engage and improve patient care in identified ZIP codes such as patient symptom and medication adherence monitoring. The text messaging program allows for two-way communication. For example, the parent may receive a text message asking, “How is your child’s asthma today?” If the response is the child is experiencing some difficulties, PCCI will notify their provider who may recommend the parent to seek care. The data-driven model assists with care prioritization by referring patients to their primary care physician for asthma management when indicated. If they do not have a primary care physician, they are referred to Parkland to establish a medical home for primary care to include asthma medical management.
PCCI’s asthma risk-prediction model remotely monitors background electronic data of high-risk asthma children. These children may be referred to their primary care physician. If the physician requires additional information, the child can be referred to Dallas County Health & Human Services (DCHHS) for a home visit. DCHHS reaches out virtually to assess their current asthma status and identify environmental factors at home. Based on their findings, DCHHS community health workers recommend changes to the home environment to reduce exposure to asthma triggers.
“The pediatric asthma model retains a good prediction ability and provides additional clinical insights not previously available using claims data only,” said Aida Somun, PMP, MBA, Chief Operations Officer at PCCI. “With the addition of electronic health records data, our asthma model can be used for all children irrespective of insurance status, thus expanding the benefits of our program to more vulnerable children with asthma.”
Positive Breathing, an organization with a mobile bus that has been outfitted to perform advanced asthma spirometry screening, will also provide outreach into the hard-to-reach sectors of the community and refer patients who are symptomatic.
There are plans for Dallas Independent School District to also refer students with asthma who do not currently have a primary care physician.
“The goal is to reduce avoidable asthma-related visits to the ED and hospitalizations through community outreach,” Dr. Termulo said. “We can make a huge difference.”
Sir says he feels “really good” now that he has his asthma under control. “I don’t have to worry much about it anymore. I can run as fast as I can.”
“Asthma is a real monster, but it’s possible to overcome it. It’s all about educating yourself,” said Turner.
If you live in one of the targeted zip codes and would like to enroll in the asthma text messaging program, please text @asthma to 844-721-0839. For Spanish, please text @asma1 to 844-721-0839.To find out about services at Parkland, go to www.parklandhospital.com. For more information about the 2019 Community Health Needs Assessment go to www.parklandhospital.com/chna .
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